


Kimura Ayako: The 'Perfect' Main Character

by artsy_hare



Category: Original Work
Genre: Angst, Apathetic OC, Asexual Character, Attempt at Humor, Backstory, Bad Humor, Bullying, Cliche, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Gen, I'm Bad At Tagging, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Masks, Mentioned yandere, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Minor Violence, Non-Graphic Violence, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Psychological Trauma, Slow To Update, Tropes, Violence, author is trying her best, sorry - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-29
Updated: 2021-02-11
Packaged: 2021-03-04 06:07:46
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 38,496
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24978916
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/artsy_hare/pseuds/artsy_hare
Summary: A story of a girl who fits perfectly into the role of a Shoujo Main Character, struggling with the effects her so-called role brought upon her and her loved ones. Wherever she goes, a set of 'Love Interests' with many problems and inner demons awaits her. She doesn't want a relationship, and any romantic gesture makes her sick.She is far too empathetic to leave them suffering alone and helps to fix their problems or find help, despite having her own problems to deal with.She enters a new school during her first year of high school a week late, where a new set of 'Love Interests' awaits her.Will she be able to keep herself together? Or will she fall apart?
Relationships: Original Character & Original Character, Original Female Character & Original Male Character
Kudos: 7





	1. Chapter One

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first serious story that I'm posting online, any critique about my writing will be helpful. I'm writing this story purely for fun, but advise and other things will be accepted gratefully. I'm trying my best to write the psychological issues the main character has, but I'm not the best at it, so please be patient with me.  
> This is also my first attempt at writing something with angst... so it might not be good.  
> This story is mostly in first person.  
> Please enjoy the story (´,,•ω•,,)♡

I was told from a young age by my parents several times that no one is perfect. It’s a simple phrase passed from generations by parents to their child when they’re still in their impressionable age. Of course, I believed my parents when they told me that old age phrase, although I wasn’t quite as impressionable as an average five year old, I listened to my parents’ words.

  
Although, I don’t think I can believe that phrase in every single situation now, because I’m a Perfect Main Character.

  
In this context I don’t mean that I, myself is perfect. I mean that I could fit perfectly into the role of a shoujo main character.

  
It was as if I was created with the intent of making a clichéd shoujo main character, but with differences as well.

  
A cookie cutter shoujo main character’s personality and traits are simple. Be unintentionally cute, oblivious, weak, emotionally open, not very smart and lacking a spine. Although there are some main characters that break free from this cliché, the ratio is very imbalanced.

  
My personality and traits are different from the cookie cut ones. I for one am not oblivious; I keep a poker face on my face, quite strong, smart and with a strong spine. Even though I don’t fit the cookie cutter, a plotline follows me despite that.

  
I know when someone makes advances on me or when they try to manipulate me. I see through their words and straight to their intentions. It isn’t rare for someone to try to use me for their own advantage.

  
I keep a poker face constantly, a habit that I kept until this day due to the fact I dislike to make myself emotionally open to people I don’t trust. The habit started when a person slightly older than I was at the time used my emotions against me. I’m glad that he won’t be near me anytime soon.

  
I’m quite strong both physically and mentally. I’m able to fight off anything or anyone that poses a threat to my wellbeing. Following the cliché, despite being physically strong and keeping fit, I lack the muscles that should’ve developed with the kind of strength I have, my figure still curvy and soft.

  
I keep a solid streak of being at the top of the class, staying at the first rank and winning achievements. Of course, maintaining the streak isn’t easy, I have to study hard and focus on school in general.

  
I’m grateful to have a strong spine after the things I have to go through due to the plot points in my life. I can stand up for myself and face my fears willingly, I won’t stay down just so others could humiliate or harm me.

  
I suppose the simple overlay of a shoujo main character’s traits and mine lines up in some way. A shoujo main character is generally great at one thing, which will be a very strong plot point in the story while being awful at another thing that her love interests would help her with.

  
I however, do not specialize in just a single thing; I am a jack of all trades, not just focusing in the only thing I’m good at and branched out in my capabilities. I’m not exactly awful at it, but I lack at tact. I don’t know when exactly is too far.

  
I don’t act like a sweet shoujo main character that does no wrong, I’m not an angel nor do I want to be one. I stay in the grey area of society; I don’t see the world in a strict black and white view of naiveté.

  
I’m quite vindictive when I want to be, often sticking my fingers in pranking and mischief. It’s quite satisfying to see someone I dislike fall for the pranks I’ve set up. I often act as if I won’t do anything to the people who have purposefully harmed me, only to pay them back twofold when the cards fall just right.

  
Perhaps you’d call me petty for doing that, but I found their faces when they face the consequences very satisfying.

  
Also, due to the plot points in my life, I’ve run into some problems. Call them tropes if you will.

  
First, the harem that forms despite my reluctance for it. The very idea of it is uncomfortable for me, a group of people directing their romantic love towards a single person leaves a bad taste in my mouth. Perhaps it’s because I’m both aro and ace, but it doesn’t change the fact I hate it.

  
But no matter how much I acted uninterested, no matter how much I acted like a snobby brat, the dreaded harem formed and continued to stick onto me despite how much I try to pry myself from it.

  
This trope started when I was still in third grade of primary, I didn’t understand love fully at that time, and neither did the children who surrounded me. But in the end I transferred schools when it got too far.

  
I found it odd that they seemed to forget me the moment I got out of their lives; I’ve even called them on the phone only for them to have seemingly erased me from their minds fully. I’ve even called my best friend from that school so I could ask her what happened after I transferred, only for her to forget about me too.

  
I guess that’s my starting point of being emotionally detached from the people that surrounds me. I enjoyed their presence, I truly did. The warm feeling of being loved is nice, it feels like a family. But when it gets too far, when they start to make bold moves, the feeling turns into something sickening, and I have to get away.

  
And yes, perhaps letting them pine over their feelings that I won’t return is cruel, but they never listen. Perhaps teasing them whenever something fan service worthy happens is cruel as well, but it’s the only way for me to have a friendly jab at someone.

  
_[It’s not like they would remember me anyway.]_

  
Second, due to the fact a harem forms around me and how I can’t choose who’s included in it, some problems arise. There are a few times where the ‘popular boy’ is interested in me, which caused his fans to get angry at me for taking his attention.

  
It’s a very tiring thing to go through, to be someone hated by a large student body because of the romantic affection of a boy I never wanted. This hatred simmered deep, and often times some act upon their hatred.

  
I’ve been the subject of bullying far too often, although being emotionally detached made me look at them as annoyances rather than people who could harm me mentally, it still drains my energy. Going to school just to face hatred and scorn wasn’t something I wanted.

  
It didn’t help that most of the teachers seemed to be blind of the bullying; I had to gather up evidence by myself and present it to the guidance counsellor in person. It happened exhaustingly often that I was now capable of making hidden cameras with microphones attached to them so I can gather evidence.

  
I’ve singlehandedly made dozens of students suspended and even expelled; it puts a sour feeling well in my chest.

  
Third, the harem members themselves, most of them have backgrounds that are less than stellar. They often have problems that I help them to go through, I don’t have to, but as my mother told me, I’m far too empathetic for my own good at times.

  
Helping multiple people to solve their problems at the same time drained me of my mental energy, often ending up exhausted to the point I have to take a day off from school and just sleep.

  
Not to mention some of their personalities, the way they acted made me wonder if they even liked me. A boy once acted like a spoiled, pampered prince, and he treated me like a servant, of all things. He kept addressing himself in third person; attempting to order me around… he’s just very tiring to deal with.

  
I don’t understand how he expected me to like him after that.

  
Fourth, I attract trouble; it follows me wherever I go much to my ire. I often run into troubling situations, whether it’d be mugging, assault, bank robberies and even gang wars, I’ve been involved with all of them several times.

  
It’s a simple trope, the shoujo main character is in trouble and in danger, a love interest or several bursts in the scene to save her dramatically and she’ll fall in love with them more.

  
That trope was swiftly broken into pieces because I save myself from the trouble. Kicking, punching, slapping and low blows are often used, along with my phone so I could record evidence that I was only defending myself.

  
The amount of times I’ve been brought to a court briefing as a victim or a witness is concerning. I suspect that the police station I often frequent to report the attacks have a betting pool on ‘how long will it take for Kimura-san to get in trouble again’.

  
Due to the fact I often made people land in prison or juvenile prison, many of their families or close friends wanted to take revenge for ruining the criminals’ lives, although it is their own fault.

  
The cycle of being attacked, court, criminal sent to prison, criminal’s loved ones attacking me for revenge and then them being sent to prison, and so on, and so on. The cycle is troublesome, I often think to myself that I should just leave them be and move on, but realize a second later that if I did that they would attack someone else and succeed.

  
Fifth, I’m not an overly emotional person. I often see shoujo main characters cry over the stupidest and smallest of things, it’s frustrating. They would only then calm down when a love interest or several comfort her with a hug or an awkward head pat.

  
The ‘love interests’ in my life has often anticipated me to cry over everything, to scream or to burst in anger. They even seemed excited for it; as if it’s a contest of ‘who can comfort Ayako when she cries the fastest’ it’s sickening.

  
Perhaps they’re affected by the tropes as well, I have a strong suspicion that they are. They often stop in the middle of their sentences that seemed out of character only to snap back to their usual way of talking and acting.

  
I could see through them, I could see their masks and what’s behind it, none of it ever lines up.

  
Sixth, I am not kind. Too often I see a shoujo main character forgive someone far too easily, they even forgive someone who didn’t and never will apologize because their pride is in the way. Too often do I see one of their love interests being a manipulative bastard who only takes advantage of her being forgiven at the drop of a hat.

  
Of course, I’m not saying that I’m evil, but I’m not a saint. I don’t give people second chances. Well, sometimes I do, but only for certain people and their true selves. People often tell me that I should give someone second chances. That I should forgive them despite everything they have done to me. But I won’t.

  
I’ve seen what they can do; I’ve seen them start the cycle over and over again. I’ve seen the repetitive cycle of breaking and forgiving. The cycle will only end when you snap out of it and tear away, or when you finally shatter into pieces that cannot be pieced together again.

  
I’ve encountered the manipulative type of a love interest thrice, and I’ve distanced myself from all of them. Sadly, even though I’ve distanced myself from them they never seem to back off.

  
There are more tropes, far more, but I don’t want to think about all of them.

  
It’s a bit odd isn’t it? For me to ramble on about this odd reality I’m in, how it seems to circle around me and creates a new circle when I break free.

  
Now that I think about it, I haven’t described what I look like nor have I told you my name.

  
Alright, let’s start over.

  
Greetings. My name is Kimura Ayako. Like a cliché main character, I have unnatural coloured hair and eyes. With dark blue hair that fades to a light blue and unnatural heterochromia that makes my left eye red while my right yellow, I stand out quite a lot in a crowd.

  
No one else seems to notice how unnatural it is. Although some people pointed it out when they first saw me, their eyes would glaze over and they would forget the interaction ever happened.

  
The harem that followed me around mostly had unnatural hair and eye colours, white hair, grey hair, pink eyes, I’ve seen it all. None of them ever thought the unnatural colours were weird despite the lessons we had in science class.

  
Despite no one really noticing how unnatural my eyes are, I opted to cover them with dark tinted glasses, an accessory that no one seemed to care about despite it breaking school dress code.

  
I guess being the Perfect main Character made me have the same privileges as a main character, weird hair no one questions and illogical clichés.

  
**< >.<>.<>**

  
I woke up from a shake to my shoulder, opening my eyes blearily, I saw my little sister who seemed to have been given the task of waking me up. She seemed frustrated despite the fact I woke up within the first few shakes she has given me.

  
“Neesan! Wake up; you’re going to be late for school!” She screeched right next to my ear. Irritating.

  
I sat up abruptly, sending my sister – who had been sitting on my bed – tumbling to the ground. I glanced at my wall clock, it’s 5.35 AM.

  
“It’s already 7.25 AM! We’re gonna be late for our first day of school!” She continued to yell while I stared at her with squinted eyes.

  
I let out a disgruntled sigh, reaching over to flick her forehead with added strength.

  
“Ow!”

  
“Imouto, you’re already in third grade of primary, yet you fail to read a clock.” I chastised her. Although harsh, she really needs to study more if she can’t read a clock at her age.

  
“Eh?” She turned around and stared at the wall clock, only after a minute or so did she finally realize. “Ooh! I read it wrong again!” She posed cutely, her fist tilted to her head as if she hit herself and a wink on her face.

  
I looked at her, disgruntled. I hate this 2D character personality that only exists for the ‘moe’ and comedy, I wonder what she would’ve been like if this weird phenomenon didn’t affect everyone else around me.

  
“…Just get out of my room.” I finally told her.

  
“Anyway, you still need to eat breakfast! Go shower or whatever!” She then proceeded to walk backwards out of my room, though ‘attempting’ would be a better word since she tripped over my school bag and proceeded to crawl out of the room.

  
I let out a tired sigh. I have yet to even step foot in my new school and I’ve already sighed twice.

  
I got up from my bed and tidied the blanket and pillows. I stifled a yawn; it’s far too early for this. But I’m already up; and I won’t be able to sleep again after being waken up. And at least I won’t be late for the first day of school, an overused trope.

  
I took a quick shower, washing off the excess sweat that formed when I was sleeping, opting not to wash my hair just yet since it’s still clean.

  
I changed to my school uniform, which in any way or form you see it, is thankfully quite average. A white long sleeved button up shirt paired with a dark grey skirt with a blue undertone that reached five centimetres away from my knees. A tie in the same colour of the skirt altogether with a cream vest and long sleeved dark blue blazer.

  
I choose not to use the vest, a bit too stuffy for my taste. That left me with the button up, the skirt, tie and a blazer that I left unbuttoned.

  
Since my new school isn’t exactly strict with socks, I was tempted to use black socks instead of white, but decided against it and went with white.

  
I took the grey tinted glasses off of my night stand and adorned it.

  
I grabbed my schoolbag from the floor and went downstairs, heading towards the dining room. I could hear my parents and sister chattering the closer I get to them. My mom was already setting down plates on the dining table while my father was reading a newspaper.

  
“Good morning Ayako.” My mother greeted me when I sat down on my seat, placing a plate of waffles in front of me.

  
“Morning, mom.” I returned her greeting.

  
She sat in her own seat after washing her hands.

  
“Thank you for the food.” We said as one before digging into our own plates.

  
I poured a generous amount of maple syrup onto my plate and added a few strawberries from a bowl. I glanced at my sister’s plate and grimaced.

  
She had created a mountain of whip cream on her waffles and a puddle of syrup. It’s one of her so called ‘personality traits’, a sweet tooth that cares less for her health.

  
I looked at the glazed look in my parents’ eyes that I’ve grown accustomed to. My parents weren’t spared from the phenomenon; in fact, they were the first ones to be affected by it.

  
My family looked average, compared to me. My mother has brown hair that reached her shoulders and black eyes. My father has black hair and brown eyes. My sister was a combination of both of their colours, black hair and black eyes.

  
I don’t remember much about how my parents acted before they were affected. But I do remember being confused when my mother cheerily woke me up by opening the curtains instead of waking up to an alarm.

  
I remember being scared when I saw the glazed look in both of their eyes.

  
I remember crying at the sudden change in their attitudes.

  
I remember coming home crying when I was bullied for the first time, only for them to not notice my distress.

  
It was a hard blow for the most part.

  
Of course, they still took care of me. They kept me fed and made sure there’s a roof above our heads. But they were oblivious to any distress I went through; they didn’t notice the bruises I got after a group of girls shoved me into the lockers.

  
And my sister, my dear sister. When she first opened her eyes, I was hopeful when I didn’t see a glaze in her eyes. But when she grew up, when she could finally start to control her actions, when she could finally have a cognitive thought, her eyes changed.

  
I was saddened instead of devastated that time, already forming apathy of people being affected by the phenomenon.

  
My family follows quite a few tropes themselves.

  
My mother is an airheaded but well-meaning person, but she could be quite scary when it comes to her family, as cliché as it sounds. She often teases me about the harem that follows me around, even if I told her to stop because of how uncomfortable it makes me.

  
My father is a softie, especially with my little sister. He often spoils us, which is the reason why I even have parts to make hidden cameras and microphones. He never questions anything, he didn’t even ask for a reason why I needed those parts.

  
My sister is quite annoying, though most children are at her age. She often whines about, well, everything, studies especially. Often barging in my room and whining about it to our parents if I lock my bedroom door. She tried to beg me with her puppy eyes to ‘please keep the bedroom door unlocked for your little imouto’ but I quickly shot her down.

  
I often wonder what our little nuclear family would be like if they weren’t affected by the phenomenon.

  
I finish off the last bit of waffles on my plate, dumping the dirty dishes in the kitchen sink before bidding my family a goodbye. I took the lunchbox my mother had made for me and went out.

  
The street was still mostly empty, there were only a few people walking to their destinations, and an occasional bike rider here and there.

  
I took my time walking to school; there was no reason for me to hurry. I wasn’t late nor do I have to take care of anything before classes start.

  
I remember when I had to take a train to go to middle school; it wasn’t a fun experience since I often board the train during traffic hours. I had to stop several men from groping me, and sometimes other people as well when I witnessed the act.

  
It wasn’t a fun experience, obviously. I was only in middle school when it first happened, I wasn’t even developed fully. I must admit, kicking them right between their legs is pretty satisfying.

  
My train of thought was cut off abruptly by a sudden force that hit my side. There was a crash and a yelp, I turn to look at what exactly crashed into me and saw a boy along with a fallen bike.

  
He let out a groan before standing up, “I’m so sorry! I wasn’t looking where I was going!” He apologized.

  
The boy has curly red hair and orange eyes, and it seemed he goes to the same school as me judging from his uniform. He’s donning the same uniform as I am – obviously, the male version of it – but he chooses to wear the vest and ditched the blazer, replacing it with a red jacket instead.

  
“It’s fine. I was lost in thought myself.” I accepted his apology, and had to squint when he gave me a very sunny smile.

  
Ah, he seems like a very cheerful person on the surface.

  
[He has quite the mask, though there are a few cracks.]

  
From the colour of his hair and eyes, it’s likely that he’s a part of the harem that will follow me around in this school. I could tell that I would genuinely enjoy hanging out with him, it’s such a shame I would have to move eventually when it gets sickening.

  
He picks up his fallen bike and looked at me up and down. “Ah! We go to the same school!”

  
“I’ve noticed.”

  
“What class are you in? I don’t think I’ve seen you around.” He got on his bike as he said that.

  
“Aa, that’s because I transferred late.”

  
“Do you know what class you’re going to be in? I’m in Class 1-B.”

  
“Mm no, I wasn’t informed.”

  
“Maybe we’ll be in the same class! There are still a few empty seats.”

  
“We’ll see.”

  
**< >.<>.<>**

  
I separated from the red haired boy when we reached the school; he went to his class while I went to the school’s counsellor for my class number. And as fate decided, I was transferred into Class 1-B, how predictable.

  
I waited in front of the classroom’s door patiently, overhearing the teacher making morning announcements, one of it about me transferring. I had transferred into the school one week late because of a mix up of documents on the school’s part.

  
So even though I wasn’t late for my first day of school, I was still late in joining school. So I still fulfilled the trope somewhat.

  
I heard the teacher urging me to come in the class, so I did. I slid open the classroom door and closed it behind me as I stepped in the class. I went to stand beside the teacher’s podium, and the homeroom teacher started to introduce me to my classmates.

  
“Now class, this is Kimura Ayako. Her documents were caught in a mix up, so that’s why she’s only joining us from today on. I expect you all to get along with her.” He turns to look at me, “Do you want say anything to the class, Kimura-san?”

  
I gave him a brief nod, “I hope that there will be no conflicts and that we all would get along.”

  
My classmates start to whisper not-so-subtly.

  
“Whoa, she looks nice.”

  
“Yeah, kind of cute don’t you think?”

  
“I wonder what she uses for her skin.”

  
“Her hair looks nice.”

  
“Is that all Kimura-san?”

  
I gave him a nod.

  
“Well, if that’s all, please take your seat in the empty desk in the middle of the classroom.” He motioned to said seat vaguely.

  
I paused at the mention that my seat is at the middle of the class, not next to a window. I walked towards my seat while my thoughts stewed.

  
I’m usually assigned to seat next to the window, following the age-old cliché, but why is it different now?

  
“Open your textbooks to page twelve; we need to catch up with the things we missed yesterday because of your shenanigans.”

  
**< >.<>.<>**

  
The sound of the school bell coming from the class’ intercom cuts through the air loudly. The teacher dismisses the class and chatter immediately filled the air. I took my lunchbox from under my desk and went outside to find a suitable place to eat. I don’t really like eating in class; I avoid it when I can.

  
After a bit of wandering around the school – though the layout isn’t all that different from any other school I’ve been in – I found myself in the school’s courtyard.

  
There’s a fountain at the very centre, surrounded by benches. There are several Sakura trees that are currently blooming placed systematically around the courtyard. There are vending machines placed in one corner. It’s a rather cliché place to eat my lunch, but there’s no one else here.

  
I went ahead and bought a can of chrysanthemum tea from one of the vending machines.

  
I sat on one of the benches that are located under a Sakura tree to eat my lunch. I could hear footsteps approaching me mid-way through my meal. I looked up to see none other than the sunny red headed boy from this morning.

  
“Hey! You’re Ayako-san right?” He chirps happily.

  
He’s already using my first name. I nod to answer his question and he beams brightly, placing himself on the bench right next to me.

  
“I didn’t get to tell you this morning, but my name is Yamamoto Hideki! Our homeroom teacher told me to show you around and stuff.” He opens his own lunchbox. “But for now let’s just eat.”

  
I peeked into his lunchbox and I could see what he has for lunch.

  
It leaves much to be desired, just by appearance.

  
The food is both burnt and undercooked; the rice resembles a dry porridge more than anything close to rice. There’s a can of the same chrysanthemum tea placed behind my own.

  
He took a bite of the mostly burnt sausage and made a face at the taste, grimacing. He took a sip of tea to wash away the taste. I noticed that he’s drinking from my already open can instead of his own. An indirect kiss, how cliché.

  
A cookie cut shoujo main character would blush and sputter while pointing it out, but I couldn’t be bothered.

  
“I’m not very good at cooking even though I’ve done this in quite a while… so my food is kind of all over the place! Heheh…” He admitted, scratching the back of his neck awkwardly. His smile looks strained ever so slightly.

  
_[An almost unnoticeable crack on the cheerful mask.]_

  
I feel bad for him.

  
“Would you like some of my food then?” I offered to him, holding out my lunchbox to him.

  
“Really?”

  
His eyes are sparkling – oh god it’s too bright.

  
He uses his own chopsticks to pluck an egg roll from my lunchbox and ate it in one bite, his eyes’ sparkles intensifying.

  
“Yum! That tastes good!”

  
It’s just an egg roll…

  
We continued to eat from my lunchbox while we made small talk, and during the conversation I could tell that his cheerfulness isn’t completely fake. A majority of it is true while a minority is false.

  
Right as we packed our own lunchboxes so we could move on with the school tour, he finally realized that he’s drinking from my can.

  
He froze in place, his expression blank as he looked back and forth to the empty can in his hand to the yet to be opened one. His expression slowly morphs into a smiling one that screams ‘oh no’.

  
He whipped his head around to look at me so fast I almost got whiplash from just seeing him.

  
“Ah…”

  
His cheeks fill with an impressive shade of pink as he sputtered.

  
“I- A-Ayako-san I’m so sorry- oh f- I can’t believe-”

  
His mouth closed as his brain rebooted, trying to form a coherent sentence.

  
“I’m so sorry- I didn’t mean to drink from your can.”

  
I looked at him before letting out a brief airy chuckle, “It’s okay Yamamoto-san, I don’t really mind.” I waved off his apology as a mischievous smirk formed, “What? Did you think I would make you take responsibility for an indirect kiss?”

  
“I- yes…?” He trailed off, unsure.

  
I rolled my eyes, throwing away a napkin I used in the trash can. “Of course not, let’s just get on with the tour, ne?”

  
“Sure…” His face was still a lighter shade of pink, but he seems to have dropped the subject.

  
**< >.<>. School, Last Subject .<>.<>**

  
The school’s layout wasn’t anything unique; there are several club rooms, a swimming pool, and an outdoor and indoor gym used for PE lessons. And while on the subject of PE lessons, the last subject today is Physical Education.

  
I followed a group of girls to the girls’ locker room to change into my gym uniform. The female gym uniform consists of a dark blue tracksuit and shorts that reaches halfway to my thighs. The male gym uniform has gym pants instead of shorts.

  
The uniform is much better than the cliché white shirt and short shorts girls use, so I’m not complaining. Who even designed those things anyway?

  
I was one of the first few girls who exited the locker room and headed towards the school’s indoor gym. Our teacher was already there, he doesn’t seem to be paying much attention to anything around him.

  
After fifteen minutes of waiting, all of my classmates finally arrived in the building. The teacher blew the whistle despite it being quiet, the shrill sound echoing in the building.

  
“Settle down,” Sir no one was even speaking, “I’ll take your attendance.” The teacher flips open an attendance book and took out a pen from his pocket, he begun to mark the attendance with every name he called.

  
“Chiba Taka?”

  
“Here!” I looked over to whoever Chiba Taka is, and a displeased sound almost came out of my mouth when I saw his appearance.

  
He has tan skin, purple hair and blue eyes, standing out from the ‘mob characters’ around him. It’s quite clear he’s going to be a member of the harem. I can’t see him all that well from my place. But from the energy I can sense coming from him, he seems to be a sporty type.

  
The teacher rattles off more names from the attendance before calling mine.

  
“Kimura Ayako?”

  
“Here.”

  
The teacher finishes off the roll call by clapping their hands twice after attempting to toss the book and pen to the nearest bench and failing spectacularly, both of the items landing nowhere near the bench.

  
He continues on as if nothing happened.

  
“Alright, today we will be playing basketball! But before playing team to team, you need to practice the basics of basketball first. After having three windows shattered from a stray basketball, the principal told me that you need to practice. Now go in pairs, girl – girl, boy – boy, girl – boy, I don’t care, just pair up.”

  
How convenient, I thought as I saw Yamamoto-san approaching me with determination.

  
“Ayako-san! Do you want to partner up?” He asked, a basketball already in hand.

  
I huffed but agreed to partner up with him. There seems to be no one else that needs a partner, so he’s my only option.

  
“Do you want to practice passing first?” I asked him.

  
“Sure! But can you do it first?” He held out the ball to me. I saw nothing wrong with it so I took it, taking a few steps back to create some space between us.

  
I did a bounce pass with the ball, only for him to fail catching it and getting hit in the face with said ball.

  
“Ouch! You should warn me before passing the ball!”

  
“Right, sorry about that, Yamamoto-san.”

  
“Mu… it’s okay, here I go.”

  
He attempted a bounce pass as well, but it ended up with the ball bouncing off to the side instead of straight to me. The ball then proceeded to hit one of the male tudents at the back of their head, which made them yelp more in surprise rather than pain.

  
“Hey! Who the hell threw that ball?!” The student yelled, rubbing the spot where he was hit.

  
“I’m so sorry, I accidentally bounced it to the side!” Yamamoto-san apologized, waving his arms in a flustered manner.

  
“You must’ve done it on purpose! I don’t believe you!” The student – which I’ve now mentally dubbed as Mob Character Number One or MCNO for short – yelled, catching the attention of practically everyone in the gym except the teacher who was staring at the wall blankly.

  
“No, no! I didn’t do it on purpose!” Yamamoto-san denied vehemently, which only made MCNO pissed off even further.

  
“Have your ball back!” MCNO then proceeded to hurl the basketball aimed straight to Yamamoto-san’s face.

  
Yamamoto-san yelped and reflexively dodged the ball like a normal human being, but in doing so the ball hit my instead since I was standing behind him. My glasses cracked with the impact, the lenses resembling a spider web more than anything. I could feel a warm liquid of crimson trickling down my stinging nose.

  
“Ouch.” I hissed out, prodding my nose with my fingers and wincing at the sting.

  
“Aah! Ayako-san you’re bleeding!” Yamamoto-san yelped, pointing at my nosebleed.

  
Oh wow, thank you for that information. I didn’t know that my own nose is dripping with blood dramatically, thanks for pointing that out.

  
“Oh my god!”

  
Please stop screeching, it’s not that serious.

  
“Is she alright?”

  
Oh, I don’t know. I might have a concussion.

  
“Who threw that ball?” Someone – ah hell, it’s Chiba-san – questioned. Hm, I just realized he’s rather tall.

  
I then proceeded to point at MCNO, snitching on him. Hm? Snitches get stitches? I don’t care, I will snitch on everyone.

  
“Haruka-san, why did you throw that ball?” Chiba-san questioned MCNO – who was apparently named Haruka – who only adopted an annoyed expression with no regret.

  
“It’s not my fault! That red head should’ve taken it like a man instead!”

  
Boy what kind of logic-

  
I looked at the basketball that rolled over to my feet, tempting me with a ‘come on you know you want to’. I hummed as I considered my options, taking the ball in my hands as I looked back and forth between it and MCNO.

  
“Ayako-san please don’t move too much – you might have a broken nose or a concussion.” Yamamoto-san fretted beside me.

  
I let out a hum to sign that I did hear him, but ignored the part about not moving too much since I wanted to throw the ball at MCNO for petty payback. I pulled my arms back and threw the ball straight at MCNO’s face.

  
The ball whizzed through the air, a loud smack could be heard when it impacted with MCNO’s face.

  
There’s a large goose egg already forming on his head. Thankfully he won’t die, maybe a concussion at worst, but that’s it.

  
The students fell into silence, staring back and forth between me and the passed out MCNO.

  
I approach the teacher, cupping my nose carefully so I won’t drip blood everywhere.

  
“Sir, I need to go to the infirmary, I think I broke my nose.”

  
“Huh? Okay, here’s a teacher’s pass.” He came out of his stupor and gave me a slip of pink paper, dismissing me.

  
Fantastic teacher, ten out of ten, how responsible. I slipped out of the school gym with no care, flashing up a peace sign for Yamamoto-san before disappearing from their view completely.

  
It’s my first day here and I already have to go to the infirmary, how wonderful. And my glasses cracked, making me see the world around me through a spider web reflection. I removed the glasses and pocketed it; I can replace the lenses after I get home.

  
I knocked on the infirmary’s door with my knuckles before sliding it open, greeting the school’s nurse and telling her of the situation.

  
She told me to sit down and wiped away the blood that trickled down to my chin, she examined my nose and thankfully, it didn’t break. But there is a massive bruise on it now.

  
There’s blood on my tracksuit, which means I have to wash it the moment I get home before it stains completely.

  
The school nurse gave me an ice pack to press against my nose to dull down the sting, which somewhat worked.

  
I quickly noticed a boy laying on one of the infirmary beds across me. He has white hair… oh damn it. Another one already? How unlucky.

  
I continued my examination on him. He has white hair as I said before, dark eye bags – perhaps insomnia – I couldn’t tell what eye colour he has since he’s asleep and I’m not that curious to wake him up just to find out.

  
“Is the ice pack helping?” The nurse asked.

  
“Eh, somewhat. It hurts if I press on it too hard. Also, who is that?” I motioned to the boy.

  
“Hm? Ah, that’s Ogawa Kurai, he has a weak constitution so he has to rest here if he feels too tired. He has albinism, that’s why he has white hair.”

  
That’s not how albinism works, not even close. Whatever, I’ve heard worse biologically incorrect facts. Far worse.

  
“Why are you asking? Do you perhaps have a crush on him?”

  
A cookie cut shoujo main character would be sputtering and blushing at her blunt question, but I’m not her so I deadpanned instead. “Nope, I’ve only seen him now.”

  
“Aw. Perhaps love at first sight?”

  
“I doubt that.”

  
She pouted for a split second before bouncing back to a cheerful expression. “Oh, you’re a first year right? Ogawa-san is a second year! That means he’s your senpai.”

  
“I see.”

  
It seems like I pressed the ice pack a bit too hard on my nose since it bleeds once again the moment I elevated the pressure on it.

  
“Ack- you were pressing too hard!” The nurse exclaimed, pushing a box of tissues to my way.

  
“Sorry.” I apologized as I caught the sliding box with my elbow.

  
**< >.<>. Time Skip .<>.<>**

  
My nose stopped bleeding for the second time that day, and after a brief check-up the nurse found out that I don’t have a concussion as well. However, she told me that I should rest in the infirmary instead of going back to the gym.

  
So instead of being productive and playing basketball and attending Physical Education, I simply sat on an infirmary bed while playing with my phone. The school nurse didn’t care either, she looked at me playing my phone and didn’t even bat an eye, and I’m sure that school staffs are supposed to scold students that play their phones during school hours. What a legend.

  
“Hey~ Kimura-chan – I can call you that, right? Can you please wake up Ogawa-san? I have to strut to the storage to restock the medicine cabinet.” The nurse called from halfway out of the door.

  
“Sure.” I turned off my phone and pocketed it, watching as the nurse slipped out of the room. I can see from the windows that she’s sprinting down the hall. Why? Only she knows.

  
I approached the still sleeping boy with zero hesitation. I bowed down slightly so I could reach him easier, I shook his shoulder. “Hey, you need to wake up.”

  
He stirs ever so slightly and opened his eye; I couldn’t tell if he’s opening his other eye since it’s covered. I can see that his eye is coloured in a bluish grey instead the cliché red eyes albinos usually have, thank god for that.

  
He blinks a few times before focusing at my hair, and then my eyes. He let out a hitched gasp when we made eye contact, sitting up abruptly and backing away from my touch.

  
“...School’s over.” I say, backing away from him slowly before turning around and walking out of the infirmary.

  
I glanced at the boy through the windows. I can already tell that his mental health isn’t the best.

  
**< >.<>.<>**

  
Kurai felt disoriented, his body lacking strength and his vision blurry with a dark vignette. He could see splashes of colour, the colour blue catching his eye the most. There are spots of other colours there as well, but his eyes were strangely drawn to the dark blue.

  
He blinks a few times to clear his sight, and when it finally did, he could see that most of the blue he saw came from someone’s hair. He looks up and made eye contact with a pair of red and yellow eyes.

  
He lets out a strangled gasp from his rarely used vocal cords and sat up abruptly, backing away from the hand on his shoulder.

  
Who… who is this person?

  
“…School’s over.” She said, exiting the infirmary right after that.

  
He blinks before taking out his phone and checked the time, the girl was right, it has been five minutes past the final bell.

  
The school nurse that he has grown familiar with walks in, holding a box of medical supplies in her arms.

  
“Ogawa-kun, you need to sleep more! I’m really worried about your health you know!” The nurse said once she saw that he is awake.

  
He nodded his head, he knows he needs to sleep much more, but he physically couldn’t.

  
“Ara? Did Kimura-chan leave already?”

  
He tilts his head at the unfamiliar name.

  
“Ah~ they’re the blue haired girl that woke you up! She’s in the first year, so she’s your kouhai!”

  
A kouhai?

  
“You can go home by the way.” The nurse chirps, dropping the box carelessly on her desk. He winced when he heard several clacks and the sound of breaking from the box.

  
He nodded once again, getting up from the bed and exiting the infirmary. The hallway was mostly empty, there were several lingering groups of students, but he avoided most of them. He arrives at his classroom; the room was empty save for his peers that were on cleaning duty.

  
They didn’t even look up when he entered the class, busy erasing the chalkboard and filling in the book reports.

  
He takes his bag, weighed down from the leather bound book he bought to school, but he didn’t mind it.

  
He loves his books, filled with worlds that he couldn’t even begin to imagine, creatures and beings of the supernatural, cryptic creatures that he simply couldn’t picture due to the vivid imagery.

  
And that girl…

  
Something is off about her. The feeling didn’t come from her however, rather from something around her.

  
Perhaps… she’s a creature – no – a being, such as the ones described in his books?

  
Yes, that must be it.

  
**< >.<>.<>**

  
I couldn’t be bothered to change out of the bloodied tracksuit completely, opting to use the white button up shirt while still using the shorts. I tied the tracksuit around my waist at the end. The hallways were already void of students with the exceptions of a few stragglers here and there.

  
I have math homework and some worksheets to do so I could catch up with my missed schoolwork due next week. The math homework would take give or take an hour, and I have to start doing a percentage of the worksheets…

  
“Hey!”

  
I ignore the call since I’m not sure if that voice is calling me or not.

  
“Hey, hold on!”

  
Ah, I hope I still have detergent.

  
“Hey, you with the blue hair!”

  
Oh, that’s me. I turn to the source of the voice, it’s Chiba-san.

  
“I wanted to talk to you.” He immediately said when he caught up.

  
“Yes, what is it, Chiba-san?”

  
“I wanted to say sorry for Haruka’s actions. He’s my teammate in basketball club so I wanted to say sorry on his behalf.”

  
“…Why are you apologizing for him? He should take responsibility for his action and apologize to me, and when that happens I will apologize for throwing back the ball at his head.”

  
“Ah… anyway, there’s another thing I want to ask you.”

  
“Hn?”

  
“Can you please join the basketball club?”

  
“…Chiba-san, I’m quite sure the basketball club only accepts boys. And I’m not really interested in basketball anyway.”

  
“Ahaha… I forgot that only boys are in the basketball club…” He chuckles awkwardly.

  
We lapsed into a momentary awkward silence.

  
“So, I have club activities to do, see you tomorrow Ayako-chan!” He dashes off to what I assume to be the basketball yard.

  
Right into the first name and even using the ‘chan’ suffix…

  
Oh well.

  
**< >.<>.<>**

  
Two figures – one considerably younger than the other – could be seen arguing in the School Counsellor’s Office. The younger one seemed to be a delinquent judging from his mannerism and clothes. The older one is predictably the school’s counsellor.

  
“It hasn’t even been two weeks in and you’ve already been in a fight and skipping class! You’re going to be suspended for a month! Do you even know what that means?!”

  
“Get off my back old man! Why the hell are you acting like you care about me?! You didn’t care about me at all for the past ten years!” The delinquent slammed his fist on the desk, an ominous creaking noise coming from it.

  
“Out! Out of my office! Out of the school!” The school’s counsellor pointed at the door with an enraged expression.

  
“Fine! I never wanted to be in this hellhole anyway!” The delinquent marched to the door and slammed it open, not bothering to close it.

  
The school counsellor sighed and slumped tiredly into his chair. “What should I even do with that boy? Kanoko… what do I do?”


	2. Chapter Two

And so, after the whole ‘getting hit with a basketball point blank to the face’ fiasco, Chiba-san started to hang out with me and Yamamoto-san. I didn’t mind their company since it they only treated me as a friend thus far and not as a love interest that they’d fight over.

When it gets to that point I’ll have to avoid them as much as possible, putting up with sickly feeling would wear me down both mentally and physically sooner or later. I remember having to jump out of windows to avoid some of them.

The most memorable one was in fact also the worst one. There was a point where in middle school when I was in second grade, a kouhai of mine joined the harem. The boy seemed sweet, always polite and acted cutesy. But I could see that he was wearing several masks.

I had to look behind each and every one of those masks one by one, flipping them over using every hint his conversation and mannerism gave me. The masks covered a very jaded boy with a messed up view on what love is.

Simply put, the boy was a yandere.

I was disgusted – appalled, even. I dislike yanderes with a passion, especially _his_ type of yanderes.

He was a possessive type of yandere, obsessed over keeping me – his ‘senpai’ – safe. He openly told me face to face that he wants to take me home and lock me in his basement, even if he has to kidnap me.

I must admit that he did scare me.

I had to involve the police when he started to stalk me through my bedroom window and tried to break in. He was then later admitted to a mental hospital because he was mentally unstable.

Anyhow, backing off from that dark topic and moving on to a more slice of life topic.

It turns out Chiba-san has been quite popular from middle school due to his talent in sports. He had won several trophies and medallions, and won several interschool championships that involved several schools in the area.

I gathered from the stares that he gets when he’s not looking and to the glares I get that he has quite the fan base, most of the numbers being girls. His charisma also attracted quite a number of fans after only a week in school, quite the accomplishment.

It seems that he knows that he has amassed a fan base, but clueless to the exact number or that he has fangirls. He seems to tolerate them.

I have yet to deal with a fan base of my own, but I did have some admirers in my previous schools – prominently my kouhais and the ‘love interests’. Anyway, I know how annoying a too devoted fan can be and how tiring it is.

And thus, due to the fact I’m the only girl outside of his family who hangs around with him, I was seen as a rival by most of the fangirls. I found their glares amusing rather than intimidating.

And with the existence of blatant jealousy, I suspect that the trope – or _arc,_ as it would fit better in this context – I’ll have to face bullying soon enough. Though I did expect to go through the arc once again, I didn’t expect it to be this early on.

It’s only been halfway through the third week of school for me. The third week of school for me just started. I just hope their bullying attempts aren’t as troublesome to handle as the previous ones.

**< >.<>. Wednesday, School .<>.<>**

It started as a normal day, quite average in every aspect. The sky wasn’t too sunny nor was it too cloudy, I didn’t come to school late nor was I very early.

But the moment I stepped on school grounds, I could feel that an arc has started. The faster I could finish it, the better. I don’t want to drag it out.

I came to school alone that day; I didn’t run into Yamamoto-san or Chiba-san. When I was changing to my indoor shoes, I overhear a whispered rumour.

_“Have you heard that one of the first graders is rumoured to be engaged in compensated dating?”_

_[The arc has officially started.]_

A feeling of apathy immediately curled in me. Of course. _Of course_ the rumours will be worse than it was during middle school.

Whatever. _Whatever._

I went to my class and found that both Yamamoto-san and Chiba-san has yet to arrive in class due to their empty chairs. I could feel at least a dozen pair of eyes staring at me when I walked to my seat.

My desk has yet to be vandalized, no writings or carvings, nor any thumbtacks scattered on the floor, on my seat or under my desk. I sat down and observed the classroom for the perpetrator or perpetrators, resting my cheek on the knuckle of my hand.

I could immediately tell who the ones that spread that rumour were.

Three girls that I could immediately tell are Gyarus. They all have unnatural blonde hair judging from their roots that have yet to dye again curled in a way that could only be made with the help of curling irons.

Make up adorned their faces, hairclips shaped as cute pins clasped on their hairs without any true function other than to decorate. They dressed in pastel coloured oversized jackets, ditching both their vests and blazers, replacing their ties with colourful ribbons.

They look identical to each other, most likely triplets.

They seem to be classic bullies, who act upon their jealousy and not really thinking of the consequences. They’re quite an annoyance to deal with because they never seem to know which lines are never meant to be crossed. They never seem to feel guilty either, and probably very spoiled by their parents.

I need to prepare my cameras and recorders. I glanced at the door as Chiba-san and Yamamoto-san entered, they seem to be oblivious of any kind of rumours. Well, whether or not they realize that the rumours are about me won’t be much of a problem.

**< >.<>. Lunch Break, School .<>.<>**

I contemplated on turning on my phone’s voice recorder and hiding it under my desk during lunch, but it would be pointless since the three perpetrators are too far for me to pick up their voices.

I took my lunchbox in my hands and headed towards Chiba-san and Yamamoto-san to invite them to join me at the school’s rooftop for lunch. They both agreed, although I could see that they’re kind of surprised that I’m approaching them first.

“Is something up, Ayako-san? You usually don’t approach us for lunch.” Yamamoto-san asked, leaning back on the railing.

“Hm, the atmosphere in the class felt suffocating.” I admitted.

“Really? I didn’t notice anything.” Chiba-san said, sounding confused.

“Not a big deal, I just… wasn’t vibing with the class.”

“Mm, okay. I trust you Ayako-chan.” Yamamoto-san said, but I could see doubt lingering deep in his eyes.

“Sure, Yamamoto-san.”

I notice that he wasn’t eating anything, nor did he have anything to eat.

“Yamamoto-san, did you forget to bring your lunch?”

“Eh? Uh… yeah! I forgot to take it when I was rushing because I thought I’d be late!”

He’s lying. I can see it in his eyes and his smile.

Chiba-san pushed over his lunchbox with a grin. “I can share mine!”

Why is he lying down on the floor – never mind, that’s not important at the moment.

“I can share mine as well.” I offered, pushing mine as well.

I can feel my empathy levels rising.

**< >.<>. Ayako’s House, After School .<>.<>**

I greeted both my mother and sister when I got home from school despite knowing they won’t answer me, or acknowledge me until it’s time for dinner. It’s depressing, but I got over it after a year.

I went straight to my room and locked the door, changing from my uniform and into casual clothing. I opened a box that held my hidden cameras and recorders that I made years ago.

I have to check if they’re all in working order before I install them, it would be useless if it turns out the cameras doesn’t work or the audio recordings are distorted.

Checking the cameras and recorders are easy by now, taking them apart and fixing parts that are broken. The process is constant, monotone even. It gives me an oddly therapeutic feel.

I have to get to school early tomorrow, far earlier than my classmates since I need to install the devices without any witnesses. I’ve noticed that the school doesn’t have a single security camera, which meant the school staffs are generally unaware to whatever has been happening outside of classes.

And that meant I would have to convince the principal to install cameras. It would be detrimental for the students if when they’re bullied or assaulted by another person, no one else would know and there’s nothing that could capture proof.

Some would say that cameras are invasive, and that the students need privacy, but I think that making sure the students are safe is a higher priority.

Of course, cameras won’t be installed in bathrooms or locker rooms, since that could only be seen as a perverted action. Though, that would also mean bullying and harassment would take place in those places instead…

Ah, this is complicated.

The principal would have to be the one to take care of it; I’m not responsible for that.

I put aside the fixed devices to the side, coming up to ten cameras with recorders in total and ten recorders by itself. My hands are covered with dust that laced the devices; it hasn’t been touched for… give or take a year.

_[It hasn’t even been three weeks since I’m in this new school.]_

If I’m already dealing with a ‘Bullying Arc’ this early on… that means I’m going to deal with quite the troublesome things in the future.

I hope I won’t have to deal with a yandere. That boy made my stomach churn just by being near him.

Well, it’s not like he remembers me.

**< >.<>. Thursday Morning, Ayako’s House .<>.<>**

I woke up at four thirty AM with the help of my phone’s alarm. I rubbed my eyes blearily before washing my face with cold water to freshen up just a bit. I went downstairs and turned on the kitchen’s lights with a flick of a switch.

I take out two lunchboxes from the cupboards along with chopsticks, placing them on the kitchen counter. Perhaps I’m being too empathetic, but I want to make lunch for Yamamoto-san since I feel bad that he doesn’t have a proper lunch.

The sound of sizzling and clanks were the only things that filled the kitchen at that moment.

Perhaps that this is a bad idea, for me to make lunch for someone that I would have to avoid sooner or later. But at the moment, I can’t bring myself to care.

I tell myself to avoid making bonds with other people so it hurts less when I have to move. But I can’t. Maybe it’s because of how lonely I feel, maybe because I don’t have any sort of stable bond to ground me.

I guess I cling and let go too easily.

**< >.<>.<>**

The fresh air felt nice and the smell of dew is in the air. But something is brewing at the ground, something with ill-intentions and chaotic.

The school gates are already opened, the gym teacher standing by it. He doesn’t seem to care that I’m even there, not batting an eye at how early I am.

I opened my school locker and took out my indoor shoes, shaking it for any thumbtacks someone could’ve slipped in yesterday after I went home. I placed my outdoor shoes in my bag instead of in my locker since someone could easily ruin my shoes with trash.

I slipped in my empty classroom silently. If I timed this correctly, I would be able to finish the set up before anyone else comes.

I take out the box of devices from my bag before climbing up my desk. I install a hidden camera right above my desk, making sure that my desk would be fully in the line of sight. I continued to install the devices in different corners of the classroom, making sure to install it somewhere high.

I placed three lone recorders underneath the three perpetrators’ desks, installing them on the edge that would go untouched most of the time. I installed the rest of it underneath the other students’ desks, leaving a few desks without one and then installing one.

After finishing my task I left the class with my bag, making sure to place back my chair to leave no evidence that I had been in class. I headed to the school rooftop, planning to wait there until at least the three perpetrators come.

If I’m already in class before them, they won’t be able to vandalize my desk. And the more they vandalize, the more proof I get. I placed my bag on one of the benches of the school rooftop, almost slumping down when I finally sat.

God, I want to complain about how unfair it is for me to suffer this phenomenon. But complaining won’t do anything, so I won’t.

Though I do want to know why this is happening to me. Did I sin so much in my past life and that this is my punishment?

Whatever.

For now I can type in my phone’s locked notes app about my observation of the ‘love interests’ masks and the glances I got of their true selves.

First, Yamamoto Hideki. On the surface, he is a very cheerful person. His mask has been crafted to show happiness, but the mask isn’t perfect. I could see sadness residing deep in his eyes, clinging on stubbornly. His smiles are often forced or wry.

The slips of his masks are very brief, as if his true face has fused together with the material. But even with those little slips I can piece together a large part of his true face and story.

\- He has little to no cooking experience, yet despite that he cooks by himself whenever he brings a lunchbox.

\- He often comes to school with bruises, not many of them, and he covers it very well. But I often catch them whenever he takes his jacket off or when in gym. He isn’t the type to get into fights with other people. Sometimes I can smell alcohol coming from his clothes and hair, but not from him.

\- He has a father and mother, but it’s clear that their relationship isn’t good. His face shifts to something akin of anger and disgust whenever he has to mention his parents. He said that his parents don’t really take care of him. He has also mentioned that he is an only child.

So with those three major hints, I can draw up a rough story about Yamamoto-san’s life.

Yamamoto-san is a part of a dysfunctional family that only consists of him and his parents. He and his parents aren’t in good terms; I doubt that a large part of it is his fault. He makes food by himself, and it looks like no one ever taught him _how_ to and it’s just a process of trial and error.

One of his parents – or both – is an alcoholic, and they get aggressive when they’re drunk. Yamamoto-san has been the victim of the drunkard several times, thus earning him several bruises and occasional cuts. Either alcohol has been poured on him by the drunkard or a bottle filled with alcohol was shattered on his head.

Yamamoto-san is a victim of physical abuse, possibly mental abuse as well. Both his parents are neglectful, possibly both of them are drunkards and abusive.

If I were to successfully help him before I move, I would have to involve the law and have him go through a trial.

Second, Chiba Taka. On the surface, he’s very energetic and determined. His mask was crafted to show energy and strong headedness, but the mask often slips. I could see eye bags forming under his eyes, bone deep exhaustion hidden under determination. I can see how exhausted he truly is from his body language, often leaning far too much and taking as many chances he could to lie down.

The slips of his masks often happen, but it’s rather subtle. Even when he uses his mask, his body language stays the same, as if it is a part of the mask. It got to the point when I’m only able to tell when he’s using his mask by the look in his eyes and his grins.

I received a few hints from our conversations and I was able to piece together a large part of his true face and story.

\- He is a middle child with an older sister and his younger brother; he has hinted that his parents don’t pay as much attention to him in comparison with his siblings. His older sister is in college, learning to be a doctor while his brother just entered middle school.

\- His parents are very proud of his athletic achievements, to the point it’s the only thing they talk about when anyone asks about him since his academic achievements isn’t something to brag about. He says that it’s embarrassing, since some of his uncles and aunts, even cousins, only know of him as a sporty kid.

\- He has an odd fixation to sports, determined to be the best and to win first place any interschool sport championships. He has won several trophies and gold medals that he placed on an altar of sorts in his room that ‘fires him up’ whenever he sees it.

\- His day to day scheduled is packed to the brim with sports and exercising, the only time he fully relaxes is when basketball practice is cancelled and when we have lunch together.

With those four hints, I managed to draw up a rough story of Chiba-san’s life.

Chiba-san is a middle child that was given less attention when growing up because his parents were more fixated on his older sister and younger brother. His older sister is smart, while his younger brother is the baby of the family, and he was simply just a middle child.

His academics weren’t good – far from it, and the only thing that made his parents proud is his athleticism. When he won interschool championships, it was probably the first time his parents truly paid attention to him as much as they did for both of his siblings.

So his determination to win, to be the best at any sport, is simply because he wants the attention of both of his parents who failed to give it to him. Because of this tunnel vision determination, he doesn’t let himself rest properly.

Chiba-san is suffering from both physical and mental exhaustion due to the strenuous activities he has done. His family fails to give him the attention he needed while growing up and the only way he knows to get it is through being the best at sports.

Third, Ogawa Kurai.

I have yet to interact with him, save for waking him up nor have I seen him around in school. I will write about him once I start to regularly interact with him and find a part of his true face.

I will write more when I meet more of my ‘love interests’ in the future.

I closed the app and pocketed my phone, peeking over the railings. I could see the three gyarus chatting happily as if they’ve done no wrong. I wait for another twenty minutes or so before walking to my class.

When I opened the classroom door, I made sure to show only apathy on my face, even when I can feel their disgust clinging onto me. They stopped their activities for a few seconds before going back to their own business. Though, some did continue to look at me while putting on a faulty mask of minding their own business.

_[I can hear them whisper.]_

_[Do they not know how to lower the volume of their voice?]_

_“I heard from Amari-san that she saw her going to a love hotel with a man.”_

_“Really? Do you think she has a hidden account?”_

_“What even is that?”_

_“Like a social media account where you keep your identity secret and post lewd pictures.”_

_“Ew, I don’t wanna think about that.”_

_“Really? I heard that she had an abortion or two.”_

That last one almost made me whirl around and snap at whoever said it. But I force myself to immerse in my own sense of apathy and continued to walk to my table.

The three perpetrators must’ve built a good reputation for themselves in the four weeks they’ve been in this school for the rumours to spread that easily.

And rumours, whether or not it’s believable or ridiculous, will still spread and grow the longer you leave it be. It will continue to grow and mutate until you pull it out from the root.

And in this case, the root of the rumours is those three.

I could see even from a distance that my desk has been vandalized. When I got closer, however, I could read it. I didn’t react outwardly, continuing to my seat and sitting down without a trace of anger or disbelief.

I could see the three girls frown in disappointment when they realize they’ve failed to rouse a reaction out of me.

Judging from the smell, the vandalism was written with permanent marker. But, they have yet to carve words using a box cutter.

The insults weren’t anything special.

**‘Slut’**  
**‘Go die’**  
**‘Whore’**  
**‘Go jump off the school’s rooftop’**

I’ve read and heard it time and time again.

I wanted to cringe at how horrible the handwriting was since half of it is incomprehensible.

I take out my textbooks and placed it under my desk after thoroughly checking for any trash or thumbtacks.

_[Let the bullying commence.]_

**< >.<>. School, Lunch Break .<>.<>**

The moment the bell rung to dismiss the student body for their lunch break I packed up all my belongings and shoved it all in my bag. If I leave my things in class, who knows what they’ll do to my belongings when I’m not looking?

Although it would be better for me to get footage of my belongings being destroyed with malicious intent, I’m not too keen on replacing everything I own. I had to replace several textbooks in my previous school because the pages were glued together, what a waste of money.

“Ayako-chan, are you going to join us for lunch?” Chiba-san asked, leaning over my desk with one of his hands on my shoulder. His gaze shifted to my desk for a moment, his expression falling. Yamamoto-san stood behind him with a rather forced smile.

“Sure.” I got up from my seat, both my bag and lunchboxes already in my arms.

We headed to the rooftops, which apparently no one else ever uses, thus giving us the entire area for ourselves.

It seems like Yamamoto-san brought nothing to eat today as well, most likely that he ran out of ingredients at home. How convenient that I was empathetic enough to cook for him.

“Here, Yamamoto-san. I have an extra lunchbox for you.” I slid over the lunchbox to him.

“Eh?” He blanked out for a second before reacting. “Y-you didn’t need to, Ayako-san.”

Ah, he’s tearing up.

“Perhaps I didn’t need to but I wanted to, Yamamoto-san.”

His eyes get even more tearful before he managed to slip his mask back on and wiped away his tears.

“A-anyway, I- no, _we_ wanted to ask you something Ayako-san.”

“Mm? What is it?”

“Are you… being bullied, Ayako-chan?” Chiba-san asked hesitantly, understandable since some people tend to lash out when someone asks.

“Yeah, we… we were told of some rumours by our classmates about you. And they told us that it’s best to distance ourselves from you.” Yamamoto-san murmured when I didn’t answer the question.

“I suppose I am being bullied. Though, I _am_ morbidly curious about what rumour the both of you heard.” I press my fingertips together and tilted my head.

“Haa? Why are you even bullied?” Chiba-san asked.

“Well, three of your fangirls got jealous over the fact that I, a girl, constantly hang out with you. So they decided that the best course of action was to bully me so I would stop hanging out with you.” I didn’t even bother to beat around a bush; I fucking uprooted that bush instead.

There was an awkward silence filled with the cliché caw of a crow in the distance before Chiba-san finally spoke. “…What does your gender has to do with that?”

I can see from my peripherals that Yamamoto-san is squinting hard at Chiba-san in disbelief.

“…Chiba-san, do you know what fangirls are?”

“Eh? Fans that are also girls right?” Chiba-san answered easily.

“No… Taka-kun that’s- that’s not what it means.” Yamamoto-san groaned into the palm of his hands.

“Eh? What does it mean then?”

“To put it roughly, it means that they’re girls who want to jump on your bones.” I said without a hint of embarrassment.

Chiba-san nearly choked on a piece of chicken he was eating, his face turning beet red. “W-what?!”

“Ayako-san, you can’t just say it like that.” Yamamoto-san chastised as he patted Chiba-san’s back.

“Am I _wrong_ though?”

“Well, _no.”_

“Case closed, then. Anyway, what kind of rumour did you hear?”

At my question, both of them clammed up. “Err… um…”

I tilt my head. “Err… well, they told us that you participate in compensated dating… and that you’ve uh, got pregnant and went to get an abortion.”

“Ah, _those_ rumours.”

Chiba-san bristled at my nonchalant response. “What do you mean by that nonchalant response?! You need to report this to the school’s counsellor!”

Yamamoto-san nodded in agreement along with him.

“Oh, I’m planning to. But at the moment I’m collecting proof of the bullying and the three perpetrators behind it so the school counsellor won’t be able to deny of it happening.” I grinned.

Both of them glanced at each other before looking back at me. “Do you need our help?”

I shook my head, it is nice of them to offer their help, but I don’t want to rope them in the perpetrators’ schemes. “No need, I’ve dealt with situations like this multiple times before.”

Both of them looked troubled, though that is a normal reaction for a person who just found out their friend has been bullied multiple times to the point they’ve gotten used to it.

“W-well… just so you know, Ayako-chan, you can always talk to me and Taka-kun.” Yamamoto-san said with sincerity. Chiba-san nodded behind him to show his agreement.

“I know, and I return the gesture to both of you. Both of you can come to me if you need an ear to talk to and a shoulder to cry on.”

_[God knows that they need someone to talk to.]_

We spent the rest of our lunch break in a comfortable silence backed up with the sound of chirping birds. When we went to go back to our class however, it seemed that someone anticipated us.

When we went to open the door to the main building as we passed through the courtyard, something fell from the door. I stepped back and pushed the both of them back as well.

The object that fell down was a bucket filled with muddy water that made contact with the floor in a great splash.

“Ah?!” Yamamoto-san yelped, pulling me back.

I can hear someone laughing rambunctiously somewhere, but the noise fades away with the sound of running.

Che, those bastards.

Although I managed to avoid the splash zone, stray splatters hit both my shoe and socks. The muddy water crawled within the gaps of the linoleum tiles, an unsightly colour among the grey.

“Hey! Who spilled that bucket of water?”

I whipped my head to the voice and almost bristled physically. Another ‘love interest’... goddammit…

The boy was tall – taller than me anyway – he has light blue hair and green eyes. His uniform is different from the usual student uniform, instead of the usual shades of blue his uniform is white with a blue undertone and black. There’s a red arm band that signifies that he is a part of the Student Council.

“We have no idea; someone must’ve wanted to play a prank on us. I heard someone laughing and running down the hall after the bucket fell down.”

“Hm, how troublesome. You three can go ahead to your classes, the student council will deal with this.”

I’ve met yet another one of my ‘love interests’, and I don’t know his name.

**< >.<>. Wednesday, Flower Shop .<>.<>**

A girl with dyed blonde hair stood in front of a bunch of flowers, humming as she gazed over the selections. She pointed at a certain white flower when she finally spotted it.

“There, that one! I want that one, three of them!” She said cheerily to the flower shop employee that stood beside her.

He looked at the flowers with a glance before turning to look at the girl. He knows full well what the flowers could mean.

“You want three white lilies?” He asked to make sure that the girl had chosen the right flower.

“Yeah!” She confirmed cheerily. Her merry tone far from being able to pass as someone mourning someone else’s death.

“…Alright. Make sure not to misuse them.” He warned the girl, he has seen too much of that damned flower placed on top of school desks.

“Don’t worry! I know exactly how to use them.” The girl waved away the warning, before perking up when she seemed to get a wonderful idea. “Say, do you have any blank cards to go along with the bouquet?”

“…Yes.”

“Ooh, perfect! I want one blank card to go along with my bouquet.”

The girl paid for the flowers and walked out of the store with a skip in her step, the bouquet containing three white lilies in her arms.

The flower shop employee gazed after the leaving girl, knowing perfectly well what the girl is going to use the flowers for from her attitude alone. But his job is to sell the flowers, so he does his job.

**< >.<>. Thursday, School .<>.<>**

I went to school a little bit later than usual, for coming to school too early would prevent me from getting as much evidence footage as I can. I wonder what those bastards are going to do today.

Despite not having my indoor shoes in my school lockers and in my bag instead, I decide to open it. I take a nearby trash can and held it under my locker door before opening it.

Trash fell out of my locker the moment I opened the door, balled up scrap paper, tissue, food packages, you name it. I swept out all the trash in one swift motion into the trash can, making sure than none of it falls down on the floor. Look at that, there are thumbtacks littered in it as well despite my shoes not being there.

I could feel the gaze of countless students looking at me, but I block off any irritation creeping from my gut with apathy.

I give no indications that I’ve noticed their staring.

I walked to my class and opened the classroom door, stepping back so the chalkboard eraser that fell down wouldn’t hit me. I picked up the eraser nonchalantly and placed it back where it belonged.

I could hear several of my peers clicking their tongues in disappointment; they really wanted it to fall on me. I could see grins hidden behind books and hands, why…?

Oh.

_[A white vase with three equally white lilies, placed on my desk.]_

I can hear giggling.

I walk to my desk, showing neither emotions nor reactions. I won’t give them the satisfaction to know that I’m affected by their petty bullying.

I collected the thumbtacks scattered on my seat and dumped it underneath my desk. Secretly, I keep one of the thumbtacks and pocketed it.

There’s a card leaning on the white vase. I take it in my hand and read the content.

_[From: People who despise you_  
_Hey~ we noticed that you’re being too friendly with Taka,_  
_we want you to stay away from him!_  
Why don’t you follow what those flowers signify?  
_To: Blue haired slut]_

I closed the card and pocketed it as well.

I examine the flowers; it’s such a shame that these beautiful flowers are being used for something like this. I push the vase towards the corner of my desk, so close to the edge that a good bump would make it fall and shatter.

Yamamoto-san and Chiba-san entered the classroom a few minutes later, they saw the flowers on my desk and their faces immediately blanked before darkening. The teacher walked up behind them without them noticing, or perhaps not acknowledging him.

“What are you two doing in the doorway? Go to your seats.”

Both of them obliged the teacher, although grudgingly judging from their body language. The teacher walked to the teacher’s podium and set down the attendance notebook when he noticed the flowers on my desk.

“Kimura-san, why do you have a vase of flowers on your desk?”

“Aa, sensei. Someone placed it on my desk before I came in class, how wonderful of them to do, isn’t it?”

He doesn’t reply.

~~_His eyes don’t glaze over, but Kimura Ayako will never know._ ~~

**< >.<>.<>**

Yamamoto-san, Chiba-san and I gathered on the rooftop once again for lunch, and they instantly badgered me the moment we closed the door.

“Ayako-san… they placed lilies on your desk.” Yamamoto-san tried to start the conversation hesitantly.

“I’ve noticed.”

“You noticed – why aren’t you more concerned over this? They want you _dead,_ Ayako-chan.” Chiba-san bristled, placing a hand on my shoulder and gripping it tightly.

“…I know. They’re not the first ones who had placed flowers on my desk. I guess I’ve become apathetic.”

We fell into silence as both of them looked at me with both pity and anger mixed in their eyes.

“…On another topic, I know where they bought the flowers.” I whipped out the card from my pocket, showing them the card.

“Marumiya’s Flower Shop?”

“Yeah, I could ask the flower shop employee next Wednesday about who bought the flowers.”

“Eh? Why next Wednesday?” Yamamoto-san asked.

“Well, I don’t know what the employee looks like, neither do I know when his shifts are, so the best thing I could do is to go there next Wednesday.” I take out the thumbtack from my pocket, “There’s this thing as well.”

“A thumbtack?”

“Yes, I’ve noticed that these things are custom made. It seems that whoever scattered it deemed normal thumbtacks to be too lowly for them or something.” I showed them the design on the flat side of the thumbtack.

“So… whoever ordered it customized it to look like an umbrella?” Taka-san said with a questioning tone.

“Yes, and on the other side I can make out a store name.” I turn the thumbtack over and showed them the small writing.

“…Awa – something – Customizable Stationaries?”

“I think it’s ‘Awase’, but I could be wrong.” I pull out my phone and typed away at the search engine. “Let’s see… oh! I’m actually correct; it’s around… thirty minutes away from school.”

“Ahh, right, that store. I usually pass by it when I go to the train station; I don’t pay much attention to it though because everything in there is pricy.” Chiba-san said once he saw a picture of the shop.

“Great, I can go there later.”

“Do you need me to show how to get there?”

“If you don’t mind.”

“I’m gonna join! I don’t have anything to do anyway.” Yamamoto-san chirps in.

“Won’t your parents mind?” Chiba-san asked.

“Eh… not… really.” Yamamoto-san trailed off.

**< >.<>. Time Skip .<>.<>**

We went to Awase’s Customizable Stationaries right after school ended; Chiba-san even ditched his basketball club activities much to the chagrin of the basketball club captain. But if I were to be honest, I’m glad that he decided to ditch his club activities today since he has been more tired than usual.

I saw him nodding off during the last subject, almost falling asleep but jolting awake at the last second several times. Now that I mention it, it looks like he’s using make-up to cover up his eye bags that had undoubtedly worsened. He’s most likely using foundation, but it looks to be around a shade or two off from his actual skin tone.

“Okay, so I _think_ if we turn left we would find it.” Chiba-san is trying his best to remember the shop’s location.

Lo and behold, the shop was there. From the exterior, the store seems to have a theme around a clean and simple aesthetic judging from the wood-styled walls. When we entered the store, a small jingle of a bell could be heard.

My observation of the shop’s aesthetic proved to be true because the interior is the same. There’s a prominent amount of white and light coloured wood as far as I could see, giving it a simple vibe.

“We should try to find the umbrella thumbtacks before anything else so we know if it’s an original design or the shop’s design.” I whispered to the two so we wouldn’t alert the cashier and the two employees roaming here and there.

We went to the aisle that held common school supplies, brushing by several items before finding the packs of thumbtacks held in see through boxes.

“This one is shaped like hooks.” Yamamoto-san observed, placing back the pack before taking another one.

“These are shaped like sakura petals.” Chiba-san shifted through the packs in his hands.

“Not this one either.”

We proceeded to rifle through the packs one by one, but in the end we couldn’t find any that was shaped like an umbrella. “So they’re either out of stock, or this thumbtack is a custom-ordered one.” I said, twirling around the umbrella between my thumb and index finger. “I’ll ask the store employee, it’s more likely for a girl to want to customize a thumbtack to something cutesy.”

“That’s fair.”

I walked over to one of the employee who was just… standing there in an aisle, looking intently at a bear shaped pencil case. I turned on my phone’s voice recorder and pocketed it in my blazer’s pocket.

“Um, excuse me, miss?” I put on a mask of an average high school girl seamlessly.

“Hm? Oh, how can I help you?” She snapped from her intense gaze and turned to me.

“Do you have any of these umbrella thumbtacks in stock?” I showed her the item.

“Uh… oh! That’s a custom-ordered one. That exact design was ordered by um – what’s their surname – Amari-san, a few weeks ago. Are you one of their friends?”

I see that she tends to overshare, but that’s convenient for me.

“Um, yes! Although I guess acquaintances fits better. How can I order a custom thumbtack like these?”

“Oh, that’s simple; you just need to fill out this form.” She whips out a clipboard with a piece of paper attached to it out of nowhere, then presenting a cutesy see through pen in the same manner.

“Oh, okay.” I filled out the form as fast as I could, and at the end I ordered a thumbtack with a picture of a goose holding a knife in its beak.

“Cool! Your order will be ready in three days, you can go ahead and give this form to the cashier so you can either pay in advance and get the receipt or get the receipt now and pay after you get your item.”

“Thank you.” I thanked her, giving her a shy hesitant smile before walking to the cashier.

After paying for the item, I wiped off the mask off of my face swiftly and shut off the recorder, making my way back to where I left Yamamoto-san and Chiba-san. And there I found them, in the middle of the aisles, obsessing over the aesthetically pleasing pens.

“Ayako-chan holy shit, this pen has flowers in it.” Chiba-san said, his eyes sparkling with wonder.

“That’s nice Chiba-san.”

“There’s a tiny cat in this one!” Yamamoto-san exclaimed, looking at the pen with curiosity.

I almost sigh at the sight, but I kept it myself from doing so.

~~_It’s… nice to see them so happy over something this trivial._ ~~

Ah, what’s with that dangerous thought?

**< >.<>.<>**

The lilies that were placed on my desk were a catalyst of sorts. Because right after those flowers were on my desk and stayed there, the bullying escalated. It becomes more and more annoying to deal with due to the fact I’m the one who has to clean the mess it leaves behind.

My desk was soon carved with words, not just written with permanent marker. Whoever carved it needs to brush up on their carving skill, because I could barely make out what it was supposed to say.

It’s rather annoying when I have to write on loose paper since the carvings made my writing dip in several places.

My desk and chair thrown out of the classroom window, landing right in front of me, just one more step and I would’ve been right under it. I could hear some boys laughing along with the annoying laugh of the three perpetrators, finding amusement at my disgruntled expression.

Lugging the desk and chair was easy enough, although I was questioned by a student council member on why the fuck I was lugging them through the hallway.

I found my lunchbox – box and all – dumped in the trashcan. It seems like someone managed to swipe my lunchbox when I had to go to the bathroom mid-lesson. No matter, I could just buy my lunch from the cafeteria, and Yamamoto-san’s lunch was still intact so all was well.

Organic trash dumped on my desk, the pungent aroma making me – and the rest of the class – sick. I couldn’t just spray air freshener to get rid of the smell; the two scents would just combine into an amalgamation of smell, which is far worse. I skipped all the lessons that day, I didn’t want to smell trash nor do I want my school books to smell like trash.

When it was time to go home I had to wipe my desk down using bleach and then using air freshener to mask the smell of bleach. Though, it was quite amusing to briefly see the three perpetrators regretting the vandalism since they had to smell it too.

I was locked in the school bathroom once, some girls – I suspect were the three perpetrators due to their distinct giggles – managed to block the door and dumped dirty water used to mop the hallway into my stall.

But I pulled the old one-two on them because I had the habit of bringing a foldable umbrella to the bathroom ever since I had been a victim of the same shit several times before. I then climbed to the next empty stall after the three left, still giggling in their annoying voices.

They even dumped dead bugs in my locker even though my shoes weren’t even there. The little dead bastards even had some bursting with guts – disgusting, I know. Sweeping them all out with baby wipes and into the trashcan was the only thing I had to do.

The rumours grew more and more ridiculous and annoying. Some of my hormone driven peers had even contemplated on ‘hooking up’ with me since according to the rumours I was _that_ kind of girl.

Bloody hell, good thing I have every little rumour whispered through our classroom recorded.

**< >.<>.<>**

“Ayako-san… don’t you think that this bullying has gone too far?” Yamamoto-san said with a strained voice, his brows furrowed in worry.

“I have to agree with Hideki-kun, they dumped dirty water on you!” Chiba-san chimed in.

“No, not yet. I need to get footage of them directly confronting me-”

“I- _we’re_ concerned for you, Ayako-san! We want to help you, but you keep deflecting us and say that you don’t need help on solving this- this bullying bullshit!” Yamamoto-san ranted, one of his hands gripped my wrist tightly.

“…Yamamoto-san, Chiba-san…” I murmur, taking note of the warmth that grew in my ribs.

“We don’t like seeing you being belittled like this. They- those bastards _talk_ in the locker rooms, and the things they say about you- about the things they want to-” Chiba-san cuts himself off, “It’s just… we don’t like the fact that they see you as something you’re not.”

I look at the both of them silently. It seems that my emotional detachment has caused me to seem dismissive to their concern rather than apathetic to the pathetic bullying attempts.

“I… I’m sorry that I caused the both of you to worry like that. I promise that it wouldn’t take long for this to end, I overheard from the three that they’ll soon directly confront me. Although you don’t like it, but I’m currently playing the role of a ‘trap’ that’ll lead to their downfall. But, they won’t trigger the trap if both of you hang out around me all the time, so please, let me handle it.”

Both of them looked conflicted. “I… I still don’t like this, Ayako-chan. But, I’ll trust you.” Chiba-san said.

“I trust you as well, but please, don’t let yourself get hurt.” Yamamoto-san murmured, his eyes looked as if he looking back at himself

“Okay.” I finally say, smiling at them.

Ah… when was the last time I genuinely smiled like this? I don’t remember.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter Two is a bit early because I managed to finish it earlier than expected. The other chapters will most likely be posted at a slower pace.


	3. Chapter Three

**< >.<>. Friday, School .<>.<>**

From the moment I stepped on the school grounds with Yamamoto-san and Chiba-san, I knew that the confrontation will happen today. The air in the classroom was tense, anticipatory, even. Waiting and building up for the climax of the current arc.

My body felt heavy yet lighter at the same time with confidence, knowing that even if they try to stomp out my pride, they will not be able to.

Rain fell harshly on the school grounds, turning dirt into mud and drenching the school’s rooftop with puddles of rain water. So we decided to eat in the classroom instead since going out is out of the question.

Chiba-san went to buy food from the cafeteria since he forgot his lunch at home, accompanied with Yamamoto-san as per my request. I told them that I won’t be able to get a recording of a direct confrontation if they stayed around me, so they listened.

Though, I did have to promise them that I would fight back once it goes too far or when they swing first.

And so there I sat on my own table, making sure that I’m in clear view of the hidden camera. Many students have been glancing back at me not-so-subtly despite their tries, although they had faces of concern, but I can see in their eyes that they’re anticipating something.

Just like clockwork, the moment I opened my lunchbox, the three perpetrators stood up from their chairs. As I’ve mentioned, the three are triplets with the surname of Amari. I know not of their first names however, so I’ll just dub them as I please.

I noticed that the three has highlighted their hair in different colours, so I’ll just call them by that. Let’s call them… Violet Amari as VA, Blue Amari as BA and Pink Amari as PA.

PA seems to be the ringleader, since she stands in front of their arrow formation. The three stopped in front of my desk and stroke a dramatic pose. Rather cringe worthy; they’re holding the pose for far too long.

They then position themselves like normal humans, thankfully.

“Hey, hey Kimura-chan~ that’s a pretty tasty looking lunch!” PA said with a sickly sweet voice that made me want to cringe myself into oblivion.

“Mm.” I decide not to answer them with words just so I can rile them up.

“Hey~ so you’re pretty close with Taka-kun, right~?”

“Hn.”

“And you always take up his free time since he _always_ hangs out with you, right?”

“Mm?”

“So~ it means you’re in the way of _us_ being with him.” She drops her whiny high pitched voice by just a little; it’s still annoying, but more bearable.

“Hn.”

It seems that they’ve gotten riled up enough; I can see tick marks forming on their faces.

“Answer me properly!” PA slammed her hand on my desk, rattling the vase – now filled with three Spider Lilies - that had stayed on my desk for the past week or so. It’s tethering dangerously on the edge of my desk.

I restrain myself from rolling my eyes even though I wanted to. “What do you want me to say? It already looks like you already have the answers to your questions.”

My statement ticked them off even further.

_[Perhaps I shouldn’t push them over the edge, but the more they react, the better the evidence is.]_

I can hear something crinkling accompanied with the slosh of liquid. VA swung her hand towards me with an open milk carton in her manicured grip. The lukewarm milk splashed onto my face and body, dripping down to the floor.

My peers gasp in dramatics; I could see some of them holding up their phones, not even bothering to hide the fact that they’re recording the whole thing. I can see some of my peers that has been dubbed ‘the outcasts’ of the class watching me with sympathy, but they lack courage to help.

_[All they ever do is watch.]_

“Even after everything, you still dare to act cocky? Do you not realize what position you’re in?!” BA yelled at my face and kicks my desk, moving it like an inch. Pathetic kicking strength.

Even though that kick could only be classified as a minor disturbance, the vase tips over the edge and falls.

The pristine white vase shatters the moment it makes impact with the linoleum floor. The water I poured in the vase to make the red flowers last a bit longer painting a tragic image of a reflected contrasting red and white.

_[The vase has fallen, a sign.]_

“Ara, ara~ my bad! Guess you have to clean that up now, huh?” BA said with a – _very_ – faked sympathy in her voice. The three were grinning ear to ear, there’s only satisfaction in their faces, not a shred of doubt or remorse seen.

“So~ you understand why you should stay away from Taka-kun, _ri~ght?”_ VA asked with a foxy smirk, thinking that they’ve cornered me to a point that I could only comply.

I looked at them, and immediately burst into chuckles. _“Hell no._ Why should I stay away from him because of your pathetic bullying?”

“H-huh?”

“I’m not blind, and neither is Chiba-san. He knows of your true personality, he knows that you three are the perpetrators behind my bullying, and he hates it. No amount of faking a sweet personality with your masks will be able to hide your ugly personality.” I stood up from my seat abruptly, tipping over the chair and letting it fall with a crash.

“Shut it!”

“My, already in the stage of denial? It’s best to reach acceptation as fast as you can. It will do no good for your heads to stay in denial.” I tilt my head, cementing a mask of innocence even with the glint in my eyes.

“Ghk-!” They reel back at my advice, their face morphing to an ugly scowl.

The door slides open and a cheerful voice I immediately recognize as Yamamoto-san seeps in, contrasting with the tense atmosphere of the classroom.

“Ayako-san! We’re bac- Ayako-san!” Yamamoto-san’s cheer turned into concern the moment he saw my condition, nearly pushing people over just to get to me.

“Ah, Yamamoto-san, Chiba-san.” “Are you okay? Why are you soaked?” Chiba-san asked as he looked at me up and down for any injuries.

“Ah, the one with the violet highlights threw milk on me.” I said, immediately snitching with no hesitation.

“What?”

"I’ll be fine; I just need to change my clothes.” I waved away their concerns with a sweet smile, taking off my school blazer that had soaked most of the milk.

Chiba turned around and looked at the three with clear distaste on his face.

“Aha- ahaha! Taka-kun, that’s- i-it’s not what you think-!” PA stammered nervously, her eyes darting from him to me as she tried to weave a believable lie in her head.

“I don’t want to hear it.” Chiba-san immediately said, tearing his gaze away from the three with a scowl on his face.

The three girls wisely kept their mouths shut, though their eyes still look at me with anger and jealousy.

“Yamamoto-san, Chiba-san, watch my things for me, okay? I have to change.” I sent them a peace sign and slinked out of the room, weaving in between the crowd of students that had formed.

I ended up having to use the gym uniform since the only other option I have is the school’s swimsuit, which is inappropriate when out of swimming lessons for obvious reasons. I also had to wash my face and a part of my hair because I don’t want milk to just – dry there, that’s nasty.

I had to stuff my soaked uniform in a plastic bag and tie it tightly so the smell wouldn’t escape as easily.

The thing would probably smell like spoiled milk when I eventually open it so I could wash it.

I guess it’s a good thing that I’ve taken the habit of bringing several empty plastic bags to school.

I never had milk thrown straight at my face, having it poured down my head was common though. All I’ve gotten thrown straight at me are lunchboxes – whether mine or theirs – usually mine though. I’ve had several struggles with removing food stains from my uniforms since the majority of it uses white fabric; let’s just hope milk stains are easier to get out.

**< >.<>. Timeskip, After School .<>.<>**

My peers dispersed from the classroom the very moment our teacher dismisses us, attempting to be subtle as they discussed what had happened during lunch. The students in charge of cleaning stayed behind, though I could see reluctance in their body language.

As for me, Chiba-san and Yamamoto-san, we ended up hanging around the semi-dry rooftop until they finished cleaning up.

“I can see them leaving from the main door.” Chiba-san said from his spot of the railings.

“That was faster than I expected, but that’s good. Now we can proceed with the plan.” I got up from my crouch and pocketed my phone.

We proceeded to go to our classroom, the two following behind me as if they’re baby ducklings that imprinted on me. We thankfully encountered no one else in our way.

I slid open the door open and slipped off my shoes, kicking it away with practiced ease to an inconspicuous area and went in.

“Ayako-chan, why are you removing your shoes?” Chiba-san asked when I finished taking my shoes off and kicking it away.

“The floor is still wet, although those are indoor shoes, it can still track dust and leave imprints.” I answered, stepping carefully so I won’t slip.

“So, what do you need us to do?” Yamamoto-san asked, toeing off his shoes as well.

“Mostly to guard the door and tell me if a teacher is approaching. Ah, do you guys know how to take electric appliances off of surfaces?”

“Nope, I’d somehow manage to ruin the surface and the appliance.” Chiba-san immediately said, crossing his arms to make an ‘X’ and shaking his head.

“I know how to, but just the very basics though.” Yamamoto-san said, gripping the doorway as he stepped on the wet floor.

“That’s good enough. You’ll help me with the task. Chiba-san, I’m counting on you to be our watchman.”

“Aye-aye, captain.” Chiba-san gave me a mock salute, a playful grin on his face.

I approach one of the tables I’ve installed a hidden voice recorder in, crouching down and motioned for Yamamoto-san to follow my motion. He crouches right next to me and looked at the spot I’m pointing.

“Ayako-san, is that-?”

“Yeah, it’s a hidden voice recorder. I’ll show you how to take it off.”

Chiba-san leaned in the classroom without stepping in the classroom with curiosity clear on his face. “Whoa, where did you get that from? I’ve never seen that model anywhere on the internet!”

“I made them myself; I don’t fully trust the ones you can buy from the internet.”

They pause for a few seconds, and I could see from my peripherals that Yamamoto-san has a contemplative look on his face.

“Ayako-chan… are you a secret spy agent?” Chiba-san shout-whispered, his eyes sparkling with pure unadulterated interest to the point I had to squint.

“Oya? So you figured it out?” I spoke with a deeper voice, smirking as I peered at him over my glasses.

Both of them seemed surprised at the sudden pitch change.

“I’m sorry to say that no one is allowed to know about that, so I would have to… _silence_ the both of you.” I shoved my hands in my pockets, both of them unsure whether or not I was joking. I grin impishly as I take out several screwdrivers, both of them slumping minutely when they realized I wasn’t whipping out a weapon.

Well, technically I could use these screwdrivers as weapons, but I won’t burst that bubble of theirs for now.

“Haa… Ayako-san, I thought you would pull out a gun or something, I was worried there for a second.”

I scoff good naturedly, “I _unfortunately_ don’t have a gun license at the moment. Alright, so here’s how to remove these little things…”

I showed Yamamoto-san how to remove the device, though in a slower pace than how I usually remove them so he could actually see it step by step.

“You got it?” I asked him once I finished showing him the rundown.

“Mm… I’ll do my best.”

That wasn’t a ‘Yes’ or a ‘No’, but alright.

“I’ll remove the cameras by myself, try not to let one fall. Just check each table for the recorders; I don’t remember which ones I bugged.”

“You installed cameras too?” Yamamoto-san questioned, scooting over to another table and checking for the device.

“Yeah, it gives me proof that is both absolute and undeniable.” I climb up my desk and moved the ceiling panels to give me a better view of the hidden camera I had installed.

The both of us worked in silence while Chiba-san watched the hallways, warning us every now and then about an approaching student or teacher, in which we had to duck low on the ground to avoid being spotted.

“Ne… how many of these did you install?”

“Mm, a few dozen.”

**< >.<>.<>**

A few dozen recorders and seven cameras lay on the desk, screws and other bits scattered on the surface haphazardly.

“Is that all of them? That’s quite a lot, Ayako-san.” Yamamoto-san looked at me briefly before smiling nervously. “Now I’m kind of concerned that the school has no security cameras to watch over us now that I think about it…” He tilted his head as he trailed off with a dark look briefly crossing his eyes.

I mentally counted the numbers and… yeah, seems right to me. “I’m positive that that’s all of it, thanks for helping me, both of you. It would’ve taken me far longer to take them all down and a bigger risk on getting caught if I didn’t have you guys’ help.” I pick up one of the cameras and tilted it with my fingers. “Now all I need is to compile all the evidence from the recordings and the store records, and I would have undeniable proof that I can bring to the school’s guidance counsellor. After that, the three would hopefully get off my back and learn their lesson.”

“Maa... I get the feeling I really don’t want to mess with you when it comes to these things Ayako-chan… you’re kind of scary but cool at the same time.” Chiba-san remarked, having joined us after getting bored just waiting outside.

“Hn, I wouldn’t use these things against you guys since you two are my friends.” I had to swallow a lump that formed in my throat when I had to say _‘friends’_ and swiftly continued speaking. “If for some reason, I can help by using these things, I would gladly lend you my services. Well, as long as the request doesn’t involve something perverted or illegal.”

_[I have outstretched my hand towards them as an offering.]_

_[A foolish move that will in the end hurt me more?]_

_[Or perhaps a blessing I’ve longed for?]_

“Ne, you sound like an informant broker.” Yamamoto-san quipped.

“Really? I was thinking more along the lines of a hitman.” Chiba-san added.

“I will neither confirm nor deny unless you pay me.” I said in a snobby tone, tilting my head upwards and looking down at them for added effect.

Both of them stifled down their laughter to prevent being caught for lingering. And a warm feeling blossomed once again in my chest.

**< >.<>. Night, Ayako’s Room .<>.<>**

I loomed over my laptop, editing the massive amounts of footage I have recorded, cutting out parts where nothing happens. I took a bite from the dinner I brought to my room as I rolled over the footage once again.

This will take several hours of work over the span of a week at least; I can smell the scent of coffee that I will undoubtedly drink already.

Oh wait, that’s probably from the mug of coffee I have right next to me.

…My point still stands.

I smiled vindictively as I looked at the footage of the three girls scribbling on my desk.

This _will_ be worth it.

Honestly, nothing is stopping me from posting this online using an anonymous account. That way, I could ruin their reputation through social media, which has the chance of spreading through shares and reposts.

But I won’t, not unless they instead move to extremes and physically harm me.

**< >.<>. Before Classes, Guidance Counsellor Office .<>.<>**

I stood outside the office, rapping my knuckles against the door.

“Come in.” I could hear, though muffled and hasty.

I slid open the door and closed it behind me, assessing the guidance counsellor. The man looked tired, as if he hasn’t had a good night’s sleep in quite a while, but he smiled nonetheless when he realized I was a student.

“How can I help you?”

“Good morning, sir. I’m here to report that there has been an act of bullying that has been happening for over three weeks.” I said, going straight to the point.

He straightens up, his smile straining slightly. “Are you sure that it’s bullying? That’s quite an accusation.”

“Sir, if I’m not sure, I wouldn’t be here.”

He lets out a sigh, “Can you tell me who it involves?”

“There are three perpetrators, the Amari triplets, and me, as the victim.”

His face blanks.

“And do you have the evidence to back up your claim?”

“I have _plenty_ of evidence, sir.” I placed my laptop on his desk, turned it to face him, and played the compiled footage.

He stayed silent as he watched the footage, his blank face gradually adapting to an emotion I can only describe as aghast while he watched the first fifteen minutes of the footage. He reaches over and pauses the video, he seems downtrodden.

“There’s over two and a half hours of footage, does it qualify as evidence?”

He nods almost distractedly, “Yes, that is… adequate.”

I unplug the USB from my laptop. “This USB only contains the video you just saw, I trust you’ll be able to keep it safe.” I placed the object on his desk, smiling.

“I will contact both your and the girls’ guardians to have a meeting with both me and the principal tomorrow after school.”

“I’ll take my leave then, have a good day, sir.” I smiled at him before exiting the room.

_[The trial is soon.]_

**< >.<>. The Next Day, After School .<>.<>**

There are ten people gathered in a meeting room of various ages and genders. Eight people sat on one side of the table, a clear division between the group of three and five. Two with higher authority sat on the other side.

That was a rather dramatic monologue fit for a narrative story, wasn’t it? Ah, I’m getting distracted.

So, we ended up meeting with the principal and the guidance counsellor in the faculty staff’s Meeting Room that has been cleared out for this confrontation.

“Thank you for coming with such a short notice.” The principal started the meeting; I could hear an undertone of tiredness in his voice.

“It’s nothing; the matter involves my daughter, after all.” My father replied earnestly.

I wonder what he would actually say if he wasn’t affected by the phenomena.

“This better not waste my time. I had to excuse myself from work for this.” The mother of the triplets said rather snobbishly, her face scrunched up in distaste as she looked down on the principal.

“Of course, moving on.” The principal didn’t even blink at the blatant disrespect, “It was reported that there has been a bullying event that has lasted for over three weeks that involves both families’ daughters.”

Before the principal could further elaborate on the matter, the mother – I’ll just dub her as Other Mother, OM for short – jumped to conclusions. “You mean that girl bullied my three girls?! Expel her immediately!” “

My, the principal hasn’t even given us any details involving the matter, why are you already jumping into conclusions?” My mother said with an air-headed tone, but her eyes are cold.

“My three girls are angels who do no wrong! Your daughter must be the one in the wrong!” OM screeched, her husband is looking at her with exasperation, but it doesn’t seem like he’s surprised by her actions.

Fucking hell.

“Now, now, will the both of you calm down so I can continue?”

Both my mother and OM falls silent.

“Thank you. Actually, Amari-san, it has been brought to attention that your daughters are the ones at fault here.”

“What?! I don’t believe you! Where’s your proof?” OM once again shrieked, hurting my ears.

“Fortunately, we actually do have proof provided by none other but Kimura-san.” The principal said with a disarming smile.

“Ha? Then you should’ve shown us the proof from the start.” OM said haughtily. I could see her husband massaging his temples, that’s a whole mood.

“Well, I _would’ve_ done so, but you were busy jumping into conclusions.” The guidance counsellor, who had stayed silent until now murmured, turning his laptop around to face us and played the video.

**< >.<>.<>**

_“Ne, have you heard?” [Classmate One]_

_“…Heard of what, exactly?” [Classmate Two]_

_“You know Kimura-san?” [CO]_

_“Ah, the one with blue hair and glasses? What about her?” [CT]_

_“That one, I heard from Amari-san that she participates in compensated dating.” [CO]_

_“Ew, really?” [CT]_

_“Yup, this rumour is already spreading school-wide, how did you not hear about it?” [CO]_

_“Shut it, I just don’t focus on rumours.” [CT]_

_“Anyway, it’s such a waste of a pretty face and a good body. Don’t you agree?” [CO]_

_“I literally don’t care.” [CT]_

**< >.<>.<>**

_“I heard from Amari-san that she saw her going to a love hotel with a man.” [Classmate Three]_

_“Really? Do you think she has a hidden account?” [Classmate Four]_

_“What even is that?” [CTh]_

_“Like a social media account where you keep your identity secret and post lewd pictures.” [CF]_

_“Ew, I don’t wanna think about that.”[CTh]_

_“Really? I heard that she had an abortion or two.” [Classmate Five]_

**< >.<>.<>**

A video flickers on the previously dark screen, although the quality of the video is slightly grainy, the visual is clear.

There’s a desk as the video’s centre of attention. The audio provides the sound of students chattering, their voices overlapping each other and making their conversations indecipherable.

The voices quiets down as three distinct giggles could be heard, the source coming from none other but the triplets who could be seen approaching the desk with markers in their hands.

They loomed over the single desk and begun writing on the wooden surface, only murmurs from their classmates and their own whispered conversation and giggles could be heard. The three pulled back from the desk with satisfied grins on their faces.

On the desk, only half of the scribbled words could be read clearly.

_**‘Slut’** _   
_**‘Go die’** _   
_**‘Whore’** _   
_**‘Go jump off the school’s rooftop’** _

The video fast forwards, slowing down to normal speed when I step into view, showing no outward reactions to the vandalism.

The clip ends when I sat on my chair, cementing the fact that the desk is indeed mine.

**< >.<>.<>**

_“Hey, it’s Chiba-san and Yamamoto-san, right? Can I talk to you guys for a bit?” [CFi]_

_“Hm? Sure.” [Chiba-san]_

_“Sure!” [Yamamoto-san]_

_“So um, I’ve been seeing you guys hanging around that blue haired chick quite often.” [CFi]_

_“What about it?” [Chiba-san]_

_“I’m here to warn you that uh- she’s bad news man, you guys shouldn’t hang out with her anymore.” [CFi]_

_“Huh? Why?” [Yamamoto-san]_

_“Why?” [Chiba-san]_

_“Haven’t you heard? That girl participates in compensated dating.” [CFi]_

_“Huh?!” [Yamamoto-san]_

_“Yeah, she even got an abortion or two. As I said, you guys shouldn’t hang out with her anymore, who knows what kind of things she would do to you.” [CFi]_

_“…Who did you hear this from?” [Chiba-san]_

_“From one of the triplets, they’re really good at digging up information, y’know? Anyway, I gotta go.” [CFi]_

**< >.<>.<>**

A clip shows the front of the classroom from an angle. A boy is crouching on a chair placed near the classroom door while the pink-highlighter Amari stood near him.

“So I just need to place the chalkboard eraser on the doorway, right?” The boy asked, standing up.

“Yup!” PA chirps, her mouth tilted to a smirk.

“Ha, I didn’t think you’d ever play a prank like this, Amari-san.” “Hey, that girl deserves it! Now hurry, I saw her entering the school from the windows!”

The clip changes to another camera angle, now showing the vandalized desk clear as day. The blue-highlighter Amari held a bouquet and a white vase, placing it on my desk. She unfurls the bouquet with a smirk and placed the three flowers in it.

Three white lilies now stood on my desk.

Violet-highlighter Amari skips into camera view and places a card, leaning it on the vase and promptly scattering large amounts of thumbtacks on my chair.

The clip jumps to five minutes later, where the door slides open. Several of my classmates could be seen waiting for it to happen, anticipating it, even.

Many sounds of disappointment could be heard when I stepped back from the falling object, but there were giggles mixed in as well.

I could be seen collecting the thumbtacks from my chair calmly and reading the card. I show no reaction.

**< >.<>.<>**

I silently slid the card over to OM, keeping my face straight as I pull my hand back. She looked like she’s going to go absolutely feral; her face is red and twisted to a nasty scowl, contemplating on lunging at any movement she could see within her peripherals.

She promptly ignored the card, but her husband reached over and opened it.

I could see that the triplets are pale, staring blankly to the screen as if they’re unable to comprehend the fact that their acts were caught and presented right before their eyes.

**< >.<>.<>**

_“Even after that, she still hasn’t backed off from Taka-kun?” [PA]_

_“Ugh! She’s so annoying~!” [BA]_

_“What else should we do to make her back off?” [VA]_

_“Ne, what other rumours can we spread about her? The whole school at this point thinks that she’s a massive slut.” [BA]_

_“Um… what if we say that we saw her selling her used panties to a pervert?” [VA]_

_“People do that? Gross!” [PA]_

_“Ooh, what about spreading a rumour that she livestreams for money? That’s a thing, right?” [BA]_

_“Oh yeah! I forgot about that.” [PA]_

_“You know, I overheard a senpai talking to his friends that he would pay for that bitch’s service if he has enough money.” [VA]_

_“Gross!” [PA]_

**< >.<>.<>**

A clip shows the three girls pulling out box cutters out of their pockets, proceeding to cut deep into the desk’s surface with only sheer determination. The end result was disappointing; none of the words were decipherable.

**< >.<>.<>**

A clip of a few boys lifting up my desk and chair with the instructions of the three girls, who gestures to the open window with sheer glee.

“Come on!”

“Hurry up~ she’s almost underneath the window!”

They managed to get the desk propped up against the windowsill, peering down with grins on their faces.

“Here she comes! One, two-”

The desk along with the chair were thrown outside the window, a loud crash could be heard, although mostly drowned out by the sound of their laughter.

“Aw, it _missed_ her!”

“Well, at least we’ll get to watch her carry her desk upstairs.” PA said in a ‘what can you do’ tone.

**< >.<>.<>**

A clip of a boy sitting near my desk snatching my lunchbox and slipping it to BA, who disposes of the entire thing – box and all – into the trash can.

**< >.<>.<>**

A clip of a boy dumping a bag of rotten organic trash on my desk, doing it so haphazardly that half of the trash fell on the floor instead. He turns to PA, who simply told him that he did a good job.

**< >.<>.<>**

_“Ugh~ who gave the idea of dumping trash on that bitch’s desk? Now the whole class is stinky!” [PA]_

_“Uegh… that bitch didn’t even come to class today, how annoying~” [BA]_

**< >.<>.<>**

A clip of me returning after school is dismissed, the classroom devoid of any other students. The blackboard was already wiped clean and floors mopped, but the ones in charge of cleaning didn’t bother to clean my desk, still full of rotting trash.

**< >.<>.<>**

_“So… about that Kimura chick-” [Classmate Six]_

_“Why are you even talking about her?” [CT]_

_“Hear me out, what if I hook up with her?” [CS]_

_“…What?” [CT]_

_“Think about it, if she would go on dates with middle aged men for money, she would also accept my money.” [CS]_

_“I fail to see why you would want that.” [CT]_

_“It’d be a way to let out some pent up energy, and it’s a one-time thing – stop looking at me like that!” [CS]_

_“You’re a fucking degenerate.” [CT]_

**< >.<>.<>**

A clip of the withered lilies replaced with crimson Spider Lilies.

**< >.<>.<>**

_“Hey, hey~ I have more info on Kimura-san!” [PA]_

_“Ooh, really?” [Classmate Seven]_

_“What else did that girl do?” [Classmate Eight]_

_“Okay, so~ it turns out that girl had a boyfriend in middle school and she cheated on him several times!” [PA]_

_“Wao, really?” [CS]_

_“That degenerate!” [CE]_

_“Yeah, and rumour has it that she took advantage of his kindness! I bet that boy has long-lasting trauma because of that bitch.” [PA]_

_“Ugh, my view of her gets worse and worse!” [CE]_

**< >.<>.<>**

_“Mu… even after throwing that bucket of water on her and slipping in threats in her locker, she hasn’t backed off!” [BA]_

_“That’s it! I’m tired of tip toeing around her; let’s confront her directly when lunch starts!” [PA]_

_“Hell yeah!” [VA]_

**< >.<>.<>**

We watched the video in silence, the girls looked like they want to bolt out of the room, and they’re very much pointedly not looking at my direction. OM looked like she’s about to burst a blood vessel, hopefully she’d realize how shitty her daughters were acting instead of shouting at me again.

**< >.<>.<>**

The final clip plays on the screen, the camera pointed at me sitting calmly in my seat, there’s a faint sound of whispers.

At the very moment I opened my lunchbox, the sound of three chairs scraping on the floor could be heard. A few seconds later, the three triplets entered the camera’s view range. The three stopped in front of my desk and stroke a dramatic pose. Rather cringe worthy; they’re holding the pose for far too long.

They then position themselves like normal humans, thankfully.

“Hey, hey Kimura-chan~ that’s a pretty tasty looking lunch!” PA said with a sickly sweet voice.

“Mm.”

“Hey~ so you’re pretty close with Taka-kun, right~?”

“Hn.”

“And you always take up his free time since he _always_ hangs out with you, right?”

“Mm?”

“So~ it means you’re in the way of _us_ being with him.”

“Hn.”

Their body language was pretty obvious to read, from their scowls and clenched hands, it is clear that they’re angry.

“Answer me properly!” PA slammed her hand on my desk.

“What do you want me to say? It already looks like you already have the answers to your questions.”

VA snatched a carton of milk from a nearby table, opening it and swinging it towards me in one swift motion. It was as if they’ve done that multiple times. The milk splashed onto me, and from the camera angle, a majority of the liquid missed me and instead splashed on the floor.

Several gasps could be heard in the background, some of my classmates in view could be seen stepping closer with their phones in their hands.

“Even after everything, you still dare to act cocky? Do you not realize what position you’re in?!” BA yelled at my face and kicks my desk, moving it like an inch.

Even though that kick could only be classified as a minor disturbance, the vase tips over the edge and falls.

The pristine white vase shatters the moment it makes impact with the linoleum floor. The water I poured in the vase to make the red flowers last a bit longer painting a tragic image of a reflected contrasting red and white.

“Ara, ara~ my bad! Guess you have to clean that up now, huh?” BA said with a – very – faked sympathy in her voice. The three were grinning ear to ear, there’s only satisfaction in their faces, not a shred of doubt or remorse seen.

“So~ you understand why you should stay away from Taka-kun, _ri~ght?”_ VA asked with a foxy smirk.

**< >.<>.<>**

The video ends, and the room fell into silence. The three girls pointedly looked at their laps, and their mother looked embarrassed. Though, it seems that she’s embarrassed that she had acted out for nothing rather than being embarrassed at her daughters.

“Ne, isn’t it clear that your daughters are in the wrong, now?” My mother piped cheerfully, contrasting to the tense atmosphere.

“Yes, it is clear that our daughters were the ones in the wrong, they were severely acting out of line. We apologize for their behaviour.” The father finally spoke for the first time in the entire meeting.

“Darling, you couldn’t possibly-!” OM started, but she stopped herself short when she saw his blank face. I could see that he’s no longer tolerating their bullshit.

“Great! Now, I believe a few apologies are due, and that we have quite a few things to discuss.” The principal says, a strictly business smile on his face. He turns expectantly at the three girls, waiting.

The three caved in under his gaze, stuttering out their apologies. “Uh- um, we- we’re sorry about the whole bullying thing. Sorry, Kimura-san.”

_Wow,_ what a _genuine_ apology. Clap clap, ten out of ten.

The hell was that apology? I’ve heard better apologies from _delinquents!_

“I accept your apologies.” I said coldly. I don’t say that they’re forgiven, only that their apologies are accepted.

“That was a terrible apology, but okay then. Moving on.” The principal commented bluntly before moving to the main point, ignoring the sputtering of OM at his blunt comment.

**< >.<>.<>**

I rolled my stiff shoulders, both of them cracking loudly after the whole meeting was over. That meeting took far too long, my back feels stiff and my legs are aching. After the Amari Family left, I managed to convince the principal that security cameras are needed, although they were at first hesitant due to possible student privacy invasion.

Obviously, locker rooms and bathrooms are off limits for any type of security cameras, which is very much understandable.

I had to remind them that with security cameras, the safety of students are more guaranteed.

**< >.<>. Night, Neighbourhood .<>.<>**

I sighed heavily as I trudged through the streets, I was tasked by my mother that I need to buy some milk from the convenience store, and then my sister piped that she wants a cup pudding and threw some yen at me. _Rude._

I might as well buy a cup pudding for myself; I’m currently craving for something sweet. The convenience store is within my sight and I approach it with the confidence of a sleep deprived person who cares little of how other people see them.

When I entered the establishment, greeted with the standard electric bell ring I often hear. I was greeted with the sight of the person behind the counter, she looked like she hadn’t slept in two days, what a mood.

I went to the refrigerators that held the dairy products and grabbed a carton of milk that my mother likes best. I then went to the aisle that held the snacks and grab two cup puddings in my hand.

“Ayako-san?” Said a familiar voice.

I turned around and saw Yamamoto-san standing a few metres away from me at the end of the aisle, holding a convenience store bento box. He was wearing his usual red jacket, although this time with a black shirt underneath.

He looked rough. His curly hair is ruffled to high hell; his eyes are puffy, his cheek is bruising, there’s a bloodied Band-Aid on his face, and there’s a cut on his lip.

_[Oh.]_

_[This child.]_

_[This poor, poor soul.]_

“…Yamamoto-san, I didn’t expect to see you here.” I greeted him, keeping my voice steady and face blank. I shuffle the milk carton to my other arm.

“Me neither, what are you doing here?”

“Running an errand, what about you?” I glanced briefly at the items in my arm.

“Ah, I was just… buying food.” He said awkwardly, attempting a grin, but it fell flat.

“Yamamoto-san, are you okay?” I ask him, deciding to uproot the bush instead of dancing around it.

“Aha- ahaha… what – what are you talking about, Ayako-san?” Yamamoto-san tried to deflect the question. But I’m stubborn, although not the ‘clinging until I get what I want’ type, thankfully.

I will not act like a Shoujo Main Character who merely look at a problem, shrug it off, and later think ‘something is off’ only to shrug it off again, and then reminded of said problem four chapters later.

“Yamamoto-san.” I stepped closer to him so no one else would hear, I glanced at our surroundings.

The employee that’s currently restocking the sandwiches didn’t seem to give a shit; he’s just staring dead eyed at the rack while absentmindedly restocking the shelves.

There’s a high school student from another school – still in their uniform – having a mental breakdown over two chip bags in her hand, pondering which flavour she should buy.

There’s a chuunibyou looking boy just… standing in the corner of the store, muttering what I think is an edgy poetry.

…

Yeah, no one is going to overhear.

“Yamamoto-san, you’re injured.” I whispered, just to be sure.

“I… it’s nothing. I just… fell.” Yamamoto-san muttered, avoiding eye contact by looking to the side.

“Yamamoto-san… you know you can talk to me, right?”

_[Yamamoto-san, will you take my hand?]_

“…I know.” Yamamoto-san replied with a sad look emerging to the very brim of his eyes, near overflowing. “But… I don’t think I can. Not right now, at least.” He smiles softly, before turning around to leave.

“I’ll wait until you want to talk about it… Hideki-san.” I nearly hesitated on using his first name.

He pauses, turning around ever so slightly. “I’ll see you tomorrow, Ayako-san.”

“Same to you, Hideki-san.” I watch as he exits the store.

Ha…

I won’t interfere if he doesn’t want me to, unless if his life is in danger.

I just hope he will take my offer soon.

_[I know that you need a helping hand.]_

_[I’m offering one to you, at this very moment.]_

_[Even though I’m exhausted from singing the same song, and dancing the same jig again and again…]_

_[Even though I would have to avoid you when I feel that sickly feeling again…]_

_[I won’t let you suffer silently, Hideki-san.]_


	4. Chapter Four

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ugh - sorry for not updating in a long time, I have no excuse.

**< >.<>. Thursday, School .<>.<>**

The fact that the triplets didn’t come to school the next day wasn’t unnoticed by my peers from both my year and the two years above me. It seems that whenever they play hooky, only one of them would be absent at a time.

The principal had us attend an assembly during the first subject, which – as per cliché – took place in the indoor gym.

The principal addressed the bullying issue during his speech – though he didn’t say my name for the sake of anonymity, though at this point it’s moot – and that the three perpetrators were suspended for three weeks. He assured the student body that after thorough investigations, the rumours spread of the victim from to the bullying were all false.

The previous rumours died down rather quickly, but a few new ones popped up as a result. Something about ‘paying the principal to make it seem like I’m the victim’ and ‘having an affair with the principal so he would come to my defence’, just to name a few.

Some students were angry at me, most of them being the lackeys that the triplets ordered around for their bidding. They cornered me and raged at me about how I shouldn’t have been a tattle tale and kept my mouth shut.

I just gave all of them the most deadpan look I can manage, kicked the person closest to me right in their family jewels, and then bolted while flashing them a peace sign.

My social reputation in school went back to neutral, perhaps even slightly positive after a percentage of students painted me as nothing but a helpless victim. The triplets’ reputation went down ever so slightly; it seems that their previous reputation was enough to prevent it from going down much.

My peers who only watched the event, even recording it and laughing at my expense have yet to apologize to me. There’s no guilt or remorse in their eyes, how could they not feel guilty when they were the ones who spread the rumours to the entire student body?

As he promised, the principal went ahead and installed security cameras in the classrooms and hallways. He announced about the instalments during the assembly as well, and half of the student body didn’t bode well with the announcement.

Apparently, they were taking advantage of the lack of cameras to play hooky while hanging around school property. They groaned for a while but realized that they could just search around for blind spots.

E-mails were sent to the accounts of the students’ parents; I however, was the one who received it. I inputted my own E-mail account instead of my parents in the school paperwork since both of my parents never open their E-mails and I have to do it for them instead.

I read through the entire thing, it looks like he’s trying to appeal to the parents that the security cameras are necessary by adding a dramatized story of the bullying and my report to the guidance counsellor. He even said that I cried when I reported the incident to the guidance counsellor so I would seem even more pitiful, thus making the parents more likely to be swayed to accept the new instalments without a fuss.

Although the indoor instalments were finished quickly, the outdoor security wasn’t. The school didn’t have the budget for outdoor cameras apparently. Hopefully with the more open area, there’s more of a chance of someone seeing if a student is bullying another student.

**< >.<>. School, Third Class .<>.<>**

Our third subject of the day is Arts and Crafts, so we have to go to the art studio for the lesson. Although, I wonder who will replace our art teacher. During my second week in school, the art teacher quits his job in the middle of our lesson because he couldn’t handle the rowdy students.

I couldn’t blame him, I’ve witnessed a classmate of mine drink paint water on a dare, and on that day we were using charcoal, not paint, so I don’t know where he got that.

For the past few lessons, we were taught by a substitute teacher who knows near to nothing about art, she even slept on the desk during our first lesson with her. She woke up to absolute chaos in the room, so she stayed awake for the next lessons.

Someone even managed to create a bonfire in the middle of the room and roasted marshmallows during the chaotic mess and set off the smoke detectors. There’s now a permanent dark stain on the floor from the ashes.

So now, I headed towards the art studio together with Hideki-san and Chiba-san.

Speaking of Hideki-san, he has yet to accept my offer, so I never brought up what happened in the convenience store. He seems grateful that I’m not pushing him to talk about it, which is understandable.

I could relate to him, I suppose. I’m reluctant to tell anyone about the mental problems that I’ve undoubtedly developed since the phenomenon started. I guess I see therapy as something redundant, for me anyway.

I’ve tried going to a therapist during middle school, but it only lasted two sessions.

I spilled about my feelings to the therapist during the first session, about how terrible I felt, how I continue to run and _run –_

When I went back for my second session, my therapist sat with glazed eyes, what I’ve said forgotten and what I said after that unheard, putting me back to square one in the process of finding help.

I was disappointed, angry even, but apathy quickly drowned those feelings, though they do resurface from time to time. But for now, unless I find a way to break free of the phenomenon, therapy is useless for me.

We arrive at the art studio, being one of the first students already there. There’s only two other students other than us in the room.

The easels were already set up in a circle formation around the room, and there were no canvases on it so we could put our sketchbooks on the easels instead. A table was in the middle of the formation, a slightly withered potted plant with quite the amount of cracks on the ceramic sat on the table.

I picked to seat on one of the easels closest to the table, Hideki-san and Chiba-san following suit to sit on both of my sides.

We chatted while we waited for our classmates and our teacher to arrive, in which Chiba-san had managed to convince me to call him Taka-san instead.

Soon enough, the room filled with our classmates, I could see the student who drank paint water and the one who managed to set up a bonfire.

“Ne, Ayako-san, when do you think our new art teacher arrive?” Hideki-san asked me, propping his elbow on the easel. “Do you think they’ll be like our last one?”

I think back to the droning voice and lack of actual arts and crafts. “I really hope not.”

Hm, this is a very convenient timing isn’t it? A new art teacher that no one knows about nor ever seen before… ah hell, is he a ‘love interest’ too?

Hopefully not.

And if he is, I hope that he isn’t one of those perverted types who make moves on a _minor_ , who is also their _student._ Imagine just wanting to learn but then your teacher flirts with you instead, traumatizing, really.

Technically, a teacher _could_ have a relationship with a former student who had turned to an adult. However, the parents of the former student might feel betrayed by the relationship. There is a possibility that the teacher had feelings for the former student when they’re still a minor. And there is a possibility that the teacher groomed the student when they’re still a minor.

It’s just a mess, okay? I try not to think about it too much since the possibility of me having a relationship is close to zero.

And if the new teacher is indeed a groomer and/or a pervert, I’ll just have to involve the law once again. _Simple._

“You seemed to be really deep in thought Ayako-chan, what were you thinking about?” Taka-san asked.

“Mm, nothing much, really. Just about lawsuits and whatever.” I muttered.

“Is it weird whenever I hear the word ‘lawsuit’ I think about the personification of law in a suit?” Taka-san asked.

“No, I thought that too.” Hideki-san said.

The studio’s door slid open, revealing a young adult with light pink hair and grey eyes obscured by a pair of oval glasses. There’s a feather earring hanging from his left ear, his right one remaining blank. There are several black rings on his fingers and a tooth necklace hanging from his neck. It doesn’t seem like any of the rings are an engagement or wedding rings.

Damn, definitely a ‘love interest’. Or maybe an antagonist, that doesn’t seem all that unlikely. I’ll just keep a close eye on him for now.

“Good morning, I’m your new Arts and Crafts Teacher, _Nakayama Kei._ You may call me Nakayama-sensei.” His voice is monotone, not a single shred of emotion is in his voice. He sets down the binders in his arms on the teacher’s desk. “The principal has yet to approve of the lesson plans I made, so for now we’ll continue where your last teacher left off.”

Nakayama-sensei took a spray bottle and a scrap piece of paper from the teacher’s desk and weaved between the easels, misting the plant’s leaves when he reached it. He glances at the piece of paper, squinting.

“Apparently, you’re supposed to draw this potted plant using only pencil and paper as the media. At least, I think that’s what your last teacher wrote. Their handwriting is atrocious.” He crumples up the piece of paper and shoved it in his pocket. “Take out your 2B wooden pencils; you can use mechanical pencils to add texture.”

Nakayama-sensei backed away from the table and went back to the teacher’s desk, giving us no further instruction.

Okay then, a socially awkward teacher, _fun._

I opened my pencil case and took out a wooden 2B pencil and a flat eraser. I looked at the plant and back at the open sketchbook in front of me.

“Hey, Ayako-chan, can I borrow a wooden pencil?” Taka-san asked, “I only have a mechanical pencil and an 8B pencil.”

“Why do you have an 8B pencil?”

“Dunno, it just showed up one day.” He shrugs.

I tilted my head and handed him a pencil, turning back to the plant to measure the proportions on the still life object using the mechanical pencil I’m using. I sketch out the very basic shapes of the object lightly, the crude lines making a very vague version of it.

I glance at Taka-san’s drawing, who had decided in the last few seconds that bases are unnecessary and instantly made a detailed sketch. He’s pressing too hard for a sketch, it’s likely for it to not erase completely. He already looks distressed, and he was only a few seconds into the drawing.

I focus back to my drawing, sketching the pot with darker lines and adding more details such as the cracks. I look up from my drawing and at Hideki-san’s who was currently struggling with the proportions.

I focused on the leaves, squinting. What is that leaf doing? It’s curled from the tip to the base, as if someone rolled it up when they were bored and held it in place until it took form. I felt compelled to pluck the leaf off the plant instead of drawing it.

I can hear Taka-san mumbling under his breath, glaring at the potted plant.

A single withered leaf falls from the stem, landing on the table.

“I just drew that leaf, what the _fuck.”_ A girl hissed from behind me, followed by the sound of aggressive erasing. I could hear several others despairing over the fallen leaf.

I moved on to draw the rest of the leaves, the withered aspect of it only adding more texture and odd shapes that I needed to draw. I strained to separate the stems from each other only by looking at it.

I’m getting frustrated, I hate drawing still life. Sure, the object hardly moves and its great practice, but damn if it isn’t boring as hell.

I added more texture on the cracks of the pot.

Finally, after numerous attempts, failures, and erasure, I finished my piece. My fingers are smudged to high hell with graphite and my eraser had seen better days, but at least my piece was finally done and has no smudges.

I felt a bit nosy, so I looked at Hideki-san’s piece, blinking for a moment as I registered what he had drawn. The proportions were decent, a bit off at some places, but decent nonetheless. The leaves were another matter entirely, and it was clear that he took a look at some of them, went ‘fuck it’ and gave up on getting it accurate.

I turned to look at Taka-san’s drawing, only to bite down at my lips to prevent myself from laughing. His drawing has no shortage of shaky or wriggly lines. He had given up entirely on the leaves, deciding to draw cartoon-esque leaves instead. There are my imprints left on the paper because he had pressed too hard and couldn’t erase it completely.

Taka-san is smiling, but I could see the defeat in his eyes.

I have a feeling that his drawing will never see the light of day if Taka-san had a say in it. I could see him contemplating whether or not turning in a blank paper would be better.

Nakayama-sensei was looking at Taka-san’s drawing as well, his eyes narrowed and mouth pursed. I could see that he is dissatisfied – no, rather… confused – at the drawing, but he didn’t say anything and instead moved on, looking back once more as if hoping that that one last look would make the drawing better.

He stops next to me, gazing at the drawing I have ended up with after an entire hour of despair and agonizing over proportions. He seemed to approve of my drawing based off of the twinkle in his eyes and the slight quirk of his lips. He then shuffles along to look at Hideki-san’s drawing.

For first impressions… he seems to be a monotone person who is also socially awkward. _Great._ I can’t decipher much from him at the moment; I just hope he isn’t a yandere. I’ve dealt with enough yanderes to last a lifetime.

The sound of the bell signalling for our fourth subject cuts through the air with its shrill sound, drowning the groans of several students as they complained that they have yet to finish their drawings. A few more dedicated students shrieked in indignation mixed with panic as they rushed to ass the final touch ups to their drawings.

“Well, that’s the bell. Sign your paper with your name and class number before you collect it to me.” Nakayama-sensei said while clapping his hands twice unenthusiastically.

I signed my paper and gave it to Taka-san, who proceeded to collect it to Nakayama-sensei along with Hideki-san’s paper. We immediately booked it back to our class after he had collected it to our teacher, it’ll be no good for us to be late to chemistry.

After five minutes into chemistry learning about buffer solutions and calculating it, I realize I had forgotten my eraser in the art studio. I let out a frustrated sigh as I glared at the mistake I made in my notes.

I hope no one takes one look at my eraser and claims ‘it’s free real estate’ once they realize that it’s a – _technically_ – free eraser.

**< >.<>. Lunch Break, School .<>.<>**

I closed my notebook and packed it away in my school bag neatly. I take the two lunchboxes in my hand, approaching Hideki-san and Taka-san. I pass over Hideki-san’s lunch, who accepts it without a fuss.

“I’ll catch up with you guys at the rooftop a bit late, I want to get my eraser back from the art studio.” I informed them, jabbing my thumb at the general direction of the art studio.

“Okay, do you want us to accompany you?” Hideki-san asked.

“Nah, I’m good.”

I nodded at them before moving at a fast pace to the art studio. The eraser wasn’t anything special, nor was it from an expensive brand, but I was _this_ close into making it shaped like a circle, and I _will_ make it into a circle.

I shortly made it into the art studio; the door was still open halfway so I peeked inside first instead of just walking in. It would be awkward if I walk in on a bunch of students that I don’t know still drawing despite it already being lunchtime.

The good news is, there are no lingering students.

The dubious news however, Nakayama-sensei is lingering in the art studio with his back turned to me. He is looking at a piece of paper – oh, that’s my drawing. _Well then._

Hopefully, he is just looking at the drawing because he likes the drawing, and not because he’s creepy and whatnot. I would prefer the former, thank you very much.

I blanked my face from any suspicion and knocked on the partially open door. “Excuse me, Nakayama-sensei?”

He visibly flinches at my voice, calmly placing down my drawing back to a pile on the teacher’s desk before turning to me.

“Yes… Kimura-san?” He paused slightly before saying my surname, most likely still trying to remember all the names of his students.

“I’m sorry to bother you during lunch break, sensei. But, I’ve forgotten my eraser, have you seen it?”

He paused for a moment before fishing out a familiar flat semi-circle eraser from his pocket. “Is this yours?”

“Yes, actually.”

He holds out the eraser in the palm of his hand, so I took it from his hand with no hesitation. My fingers brushed over his palm minutely, but I could see him flinching from the slight touch.

_Hm._

“Thank you, Sensei.”

“Hn.” He hummed, turning back to the stack of papers.

I left the art studio briskly, shutting the door behind me.

**< >.<>.<>**

“So Amari-san’s mother just screeches whenever she opens her mouth?” Taka-san asked in between bites of his food.

“Yeah, I briefly thought that my eardrums ruptured from the volume alone.” I said, sipping on my can of peach tea.

“…Are you sure that she isn’t an ape or whatever?” Hideki-san said around the chopsticks in his mouth.

I snorted at his comment before speaking my thoughts, “What do guys think of our new teacher?” I asked them, slightly curious.

“Umm… he’s kinda awkward in a way... I think?” Hideki-san answered questioningly after a bit of pondering.

“Awkward…? I guess that’s a way to describe him. I mean, he’s quite monotone isn’t he?” Taka-san said, leaning on the wall.

“Mm, at least he doesn’t start off the lesson with a thirty minute lecture like our last art teacher did.” I mumbled, biting into the shrimp held in my chopsticks.

“Well, there’s that at least.” There’s a pause before Taka-san continued, “Also, I found out that the guy who set up a bonfire had been planning it since the first day of school.”

“Haa? Really?” Hideki-san question, interest clear in his eyes as he leaned forwards.

“Yup, turns out that he was suspended in middle school several times because he would always manage to set up a bonfire in any room in his middle school’s building.”

“…He sounds like a pyromaniac.” I commented, slightly concerned over the fact that the boy – who I now dub as Pyromaniac Boy – could potentially burn our school down.

“Well, at least he was _only_ roasting marshmallows.” Taka-san shrugs.

“That set off the _fire alarms.”_

“What else would he have roasted? Sausages?” I muttered sarcastically.

“I mean, he _could’ve.”_ Taka-san said, reaching over with his chopsticks and snatching one of my egg rolls.

I rolled my eyes and let him.

**< >.<>. Friday, School .<>.<>**

So, today hasn’t been the best for me.

See, this morning I was distracted by sister’s whining about ‘wanting sweets for breakfast’ or something along that line, her whining dissolved into crying and I decided to rush out of the house so I won’t have to deal with the ‘Crybaby’ character personality she has so early in the morning.

Because I rushed out, I had forgotten to take both lunchboxes and ended up only grabbing Hideki-san’s.

And so, here I am in the cafeteria, trying to buy something for lunch. I never liked the cafeteria in the first place, and the fact that I had to push through the crowd just to buy some bread made my dislike for it grow.

I managed to buy melon bread and yakisoba bread along with a can of green tea, hooray for me. I let out a sigh as I looked at the crowded hallway that I have to get through if I went directly from the cafeteria to the rooftops. Well, I might as well take the outside route at this point.

I walked out of the building, swiftly weaving through the crowd of students eager to spend their lunch break. I swung open the double doors and closed it behind me, sighing in relief when the chattering was immediately muffled.

I walked around the school building, keeping my gaze straight forward since I’m not in the mood to deal with students who are hiding in random corners to sneak a smoke or take a hit of their juul.

I pause in my steps when I heard the sound of physical impact and the sound of someone groaning from pain. I narrow my eyes as I pocketed my drink, suppressing the urge to shiver at the chill that seeped through my pocket.

I quietened my steps and approach the corner, taking out my phone to turn on the video recording feature of the camera so I won’t have to expose myself just to look. I move my phone over the corner to record whatever’s happening that I couldn’t see, before pulling back to watch what I’ve recorded.

My eyes widened momentarily before I narrowed them. On the video – although upside down – I could see three boys ganging up on a single student. Upon closer inspection, I could see that the student being beaten down has white hair – fuck me it’s Ogawa Kurai.

I exhaled harshly through my nose; guess there’s a new arc peeking over the horizon, huh? I turn on the video recording feature once again and tuck it in my blazer’s pocket, making sure that the camera is peeking over the cloth.

I crack my knuckles in case they won’t leave without a beat down. I stepped around the corner quickly.

“Oi, _oi._ What the _hell_ are you guys doing?” I said coldly, dropping the pitch of my voice just a bit.

The three boys turned around, frown and scowls on their faces, while Ogawa-senpai lied on the ground with his arms around his torso, groaning in pain.

The three boys look like stereotypical delinquents. With neon coloured hair, even neon piercings of all things. Their red, yellow and green hair makes them look like traffic lights; my eyes hurt just looking at them, good god.

“Haa? Why don’t you just scram? This isn’t your business.” The boy – who I now dub as Red Light – growled, getting up from his crouched position.

“Eh? Hey, she’s that first grader slut, isn’t she?” Green Light said after momentarily racking his brain.

“Huh? You mean the one who got an abortion or whatever?” Yellow Light directed his question to GL, but he only got a shrug as an answer.

I rolled my eyes, stepping closer to them. “I asked you what you were doing.”

“Che, why do you even care? Are you his girlfriend or something?” RL stepped in front of me, his hand grasping loosely on a crowbar.

“I don’t see why my personal life is your business. And I believe that you should leave him alone.”

“Ha? And what will you do if we don’t? Give us diseases?”

I quirked an eyebrow at him, knowing exactly what he implies. “Did you actually believe those rumours that my standards have dropped so low I would let anyone have their way with me for money? Haven’t you heard that the rumours have been proven as false?”

“Well…” RL started, looking at me up and down, “…you look like the type to do those sorts of things. A goody two shoes by day, a whore fit to be in the red light district by night.”

 _Wao,_ I really want to punch this guy.

“…Say, now that I look at you closely…” YL said, stepping closer to me, “…you’re kinda cute. Wanna ditch school and ‘hang out’?”

_Ha?_

This bastard…

“Don’t flatter yourself by thinking I would even waste my time on you, you’re not worth my time.” I replied drily to his ‘invitation’, glaring at him over my glasses.

“You bitch-!” YL shouts, grabbing the baseball bat and swinging it down on me.

I dodged him by side stepping the attack, grabbing the can of green tea from my skirt’s pocket and slamming the rounded edge into his forehead.

“AUGH! What the f-” YL clutched his forehead in reflex, dropping the baseball bat. I took the chance of his momentary imbalance and landed a low sweep to his ankles, sending him down. The motion of his fall made him slam the side of his head at the concrete wall, knocking him out.

I didn’t mean for that to happen, but okay.

GL lunged at me, brandishing brass knuckles. I blocked his first swing by swatting his hand to the side, continuing my movement by kneeing him in his gut. He keeled over, clutching at his – now bruising – stomach as he hacked out spit.

“You –! How dare you!”

RL gripped tightly on his crowbar, aiming at my head as he swung the crowbar with no hesitation. I ducked under his attack while opening the can of tea, throwing the contents at his face.

“Pfft – pff – it’s in my eyes–!”

I used the momentary distraction to swing a well-aimed punch at his solar plexus, leaving him a crumpled, wheezing mess on the ground.

“How dramatic.” I muttered, brushing off the dust from my hands. I stopped the recording, quickly snapping pictures of their face before pocketing my phone back in my skirt pocket. I stepped over the groaning bodies, turning to look at Ogawa-senpai. He flinched the very moment I looked at him, he looked ready to bolt.

“…Senpai, are you alright?” I asked him, crouching down – ignoring the groaning mess behind me – so I could see eye to eye with him.

“I- um, I’m… fine.” Ogawa-senpai muttered, breaking eye contact with me.

“…Senpai, both of us know that that’s a lie. I can see bruises forming on your face, and your nose is bloodied. I heard from the school’s nurse that you’re physically weak, you have to go to the infirmary to be patched up.” I said bluntly.

He ducked his head in embarrassment, knowing that I’m correct.

I looked at the upside down lunchbox on the ground, the food once inside it squished on the ground with a clear foot print on it. I picked up the lunchbox and closed it using the lid, handing it over to Ogawa-senpai.

“This is yours, right?” I asked as I held it in front of him.

“Ah, yes… it is.” He cautiously took his lunchbox from my hands, glancing behind me. I turn to look at the direction he is looking, nearly snorting at the sight of the three delinquents running away. Well, two of them were running away, the other one being hauled away by them.

I observed his body language and furrowed my eyebrows, “Senpai, can you stand up?”

He looked at his legs before shaking his head, “No… I don’t think I can, my legs hurt too much…”

Well, that’s to be expected, his body is weak in the first place, and I have no idea how long those delinquents had been ganging up on him before I stepped in.

Ah hell, my empathy is gut-punching me.

I let out a huff, taking out my phone to text Hideki-san and Taka-san that I’ll be late to join them.

“Come on, I’ll help you get to the infirmary.” I turn my back to him with both of my hands behind me.

“U-um, how exactly…?”

“I’ll carry you to the infirmary.”

“E-eh?!”

“Well senpai, it’s either a piggyback ride, a bridal carry or I carry you like a potato sack.” I told him bluntly, not bothering to sugar coat anything.

There’s a momentary silence before I felt him leaning on me with both of his hands on my shoulders. I tensed minutely from the close contact, but I forced myself to relax after taking a deep breath. I positioned my hands under his legs, standing up with ease, much to Ogawa-senpai’s surprise if I were to judge from his gasp.

“S-sorry to trouble you…” He trailed off.

“It’s Kimura Ayako.”

“Ah, right… sorry to trouble you, Kimura-san.”

“It’s alright.”

We went on our way to the infirmary, taking the path that held the least witnesses as possible. Several students looked at us with confusion before minding their own business, though some of them itched to take their phones to snap a picture or video.

I simply glared at them in a manner that says ‘I will make you regret that’ until they stopped moving their hand to take their phones out.

When we were one corner away from the infirmary, I was stopped by a familiar voice that I’ve only heard once up until now. I looked over to the source and blanked my face to refrain myself from cringing at the sight of the blue haired council member.

“You, what are you doing with Ogawa-san?”

“A-ah, Harada-san…” Ogawa-senpai muttered.

“I’m simply carrying Ogawa-senpai to the infirmary, he’s hurt.” I answered calmly.

“Is that so?” He looked like he doesn’t believe me, though if I was in his position I wouldn’t believe me either. “Hand him over to me, I’ll carry him to the infirmary.”

“No need, the infirmary is only one corner away, and I’m sure that you’ve got your own duties to attend to.”

“That is true, but the safety and health of the students of this school is my first priority.”

Hm, it seems like he’s up to his eyebrows with responsibilities, and he seems to be handling it rather well.

“It’s fine; it’s just a few metres away.” I continued on my way to the infirmary, ignoring the fact that the student council is hot on my heels.

I slid the infirmary door open a crack with my foot before using my shoulder to slide it open further. The student council had decided to stay outside for some reason I don’t really care to find out.

“Ah, Kimura-chan, what brings you here – oh my! Ogawa-san, what happened?!” The school nurse shrieked the moment she spotted Ogawa-senpai’s bruised face.

I set down Ogawa-senpai on the nearest infirmary bed before whipping out my phone to show her the three delinquents. “I witnessed him being beat down by three delinquents who had decided to dye their hair as traffic lights. I’ve taken pictures of them.”

“Ah, them. They’re all in class 2-D.” She leaned closer to my phone and squinted. “Why do they look beaten up?”

“I acted on self-defence; they didn’t want to leave peacefully after I told them to leave Ogawa-senpai alone.” I told her.

“…I see, you can go now. I’ll go ahead and treat his wounds.” The nurse pointed to the general direction of the door before turning around and searching through the cabinets.

I turn to look at Ogawa-senpai, remembering the fact that he wasn’t able to eat his lunch. I took out the yakisoba bread and passed it over to Ogawa-senpai.

“Uh- um, thank you…?” He thanked me, though questioningly.

I gave him a brief nod before exiting the infirmary, closing the door behind me. I nearly bumped into the student council member the very moment I took a step.

“Would you care to explain why Ogawa-san was hurt to that extent?”

“I-”

“Were you the one that hurt him? I pitied you when the principal informed us Student Councils about what actually happened in the bullying incident, but–”

I was close to roll my eyes at him, but I withheld the urge and instead showed him the videos I’ve captured with my phone, his suspicion towards me faded away, and I could see that the suspicion had turned into anger towards the three delinquents.

“Are you going to report this to the Guidance Counsellor?” He asked me suddenly.

“Hm? Yes.”

“Okay then, I apologize for bothering you, Kimura-san.” He trailed off.

“Apology accepted, I have yet to know your name.”

“It’s _Harada Kibishi.”_

We gave each other a respectable nod before we went on our respective ways. I arrive at the rooftop and greeted Hideki-san and Taka-san with a spectacular conversation starter.

“Guys holy _fuck;_ you wouldn’t believe what I’ve had to go through in the past fifteen minutes.”

Immediately, both of them snapped into attention and listened intently.

**< >.<>.<>**

Both Hideki-san and I were told by our homeroom teacher that he wanted to talk with us in the Teacher’s Faculty after school. So we bid Taka-san a goodbye before he went to his basketball club activities while we went to the Teacher’s Faculty.

I felt slightly curious about what he wanted to say to us, and I knew that Hideki-san felt the same due to his rather fidgety body language.

I knocked thrice on the Teacher’s Faculty door before entering, Hideki-san closing the door since he entered after me. We walked straight to our homeroom teacher, who looked rather distracted by the stack of papers he is shifting through.

“Sensei, you wanted to talk to us?” I started the conversation.

“Ah, Kimura-san and Hideki-san, you’re here.” He shifts in his seat to face us, setting down the stack of paper on his desk. “I have something to talk to the both of you about.”

I tilted my head, “What is it, Sensei?”

“The both of you have yet to join a club, which is mandatory in this school.”

I blinked. Right, I forgot about that.

Eh? What about my classmates that just goes home every day of the week?

“Ah… it’s mandatory?” Hideki-san murmured, confused.

_Ah._

“Yes, it was stated in the e-mails students’ parents received at the start of the school year. Did your parents forget to mention it?”

“Aha – ahaha, I think they forgot!” Hideki-san quickly covered up, smiling at our homeroom teacher. His smile was faked to the point it’s painful to see.

“Mm, I see.” The teacher didn’t seem to believe Hideki-san, but didn’t push, “Well, the both of you have to join a club. The deadline to join a club is until next week’s Friday.”

“What would happen if we don’t manage to join one when we reach the deadline?”

The teacher drummed his fingers on the stack of paper, “You’ll be put into a random club that still has a spot.”

“…We’ll try our best, Sensei.” Hideki-san answered.

“Sensei, I’ve seen several classmates of mine going home and not attending club activities, are they also not in a club?” I decided to ask a question that niggled in my mind.

“Oh, them. No, they’re in clubs, it’s just that they play hooky and don’t participate in their club activities.”

“That’s allowed?”

The teacher titled his head, “Well, as long as you attend the minimum amount of club activities… I guess it’s allowed.”

Well, that’s something I should keep in mind.

**< >.<>. Monday, End of School .<>.<>**

“Wait, so the both of you haven’t joined a club?”

Both Hideki-san and I were accompanied by Taka-san in our search for a club, the Basketball Club’s activity was cancelled for today due to the fact over than half of the team suffered from food poisoning. Taka-san told us that the cause was that they ate sushi that had been left out for too long.

“Nope, I didn’t know it’s mandatory!” Hideki-san chirped positively.

“I forgot.” I said flatly, contrasting to the happy tone.

“Man, I thought the both of you played hooky every day or something.” Taka-san admitted rather sheepishly.

“Mou, how rude!” Hideki-san whined half-heartedly.

“Well, I’ll just tell you guys now that all the sports clubs are full so you don’t have to waste your time with them.” Taka-san informed.

“I didn’t want to join them anyway.” I scribbled over the sports clubs in the list of clubs we were given by our homeroom teacher, marking them with red.

“We should visit the clubs that hold their activities outdoors first.” I suggested.

“That’s fair.”

We went around the school, looking at the clubs and the activities, but we have yet to find a club that suited us or one that isn’t full.

Well, the Art Club did interest me at first, but after seeing the sheer chaos that resulted after only five minutes of club activity, I crossed the option off the list. And for some reason, the teacher that vouched for the club wasn’t the art teacher, and instead the history teacher.

It’s most likely that Nakayama-sensei decided that vouching for the art club is too social and said no. I’d say no too if I’m in his position, but rather because it’s too social, I’d refuse because of the sheer chaos the art club members manage to create within five minutes of club activity.

I’ve heard that several years ago, the – now alumni – art club members managed to invoke a demon and became temporary exorcists after the demon started possessing other students. _Wild._

“Did we just see someone plastering clay on another student to make a statue mold?” Hideki-san asked after three minutes of walking away from them art studio in a fast pace.

“Screw the statue; someone was making a full size _guillotine.”_ I hissed, and from the looks of it, it’s fully functional too. I hope they reigned in their chaotic energy enough to not use a real blade.

Taka-san was just laughing hysterically; I think the chaos is affecting him.

“Okay, what’s next?”

“Next is the… Occult Club.” I squinted at the paper, out of all clichés…

“That’s allowed?”

“I guess so.” Taka-san shrugs.

We stood outside of the Occult Club room where we _did not_ in fact hear demonic chanting like Taka-san speculated we would hear. There are dark purple curtains drawn over the windows, so we couldn’t just peek in.

We glanced at each other, communicating with our eyes and head movement for someone to knock on the door. At the end, Hideki-san was the one who had to knock on the door.

 _Knock._  
Knock.  
Knock.

There’s a momentary silence before a familiar meek voice could be heard. “…Yes?”

“Is this the Occult Club?” Hideki-san was directing both Taka-san and I a _Look_ that screams ‘what the fuck do I say’ in which the both of us gave him a Look that says, ‘do we look like we’d know’.

“…Unfortunately, yes…”

“Great! Can we come in?”

“…Okay.”

The door made a clicking noise that signifies that it was unlocked, the door slides open slowly. And as I suspected, the person behind the door is none other than Ogawa-senpai.

His eyes flickered over to me for a split second before focusing back on Hideki-san.

“Uh – um… come in, I guess…” He slinks away from the doorway without a sound.

Hideki-san looks back at us before stepping in the club room, followed closely by me and Taka-san who had decided to tag along.

The room was normal…ish. If you ignore the corkboards with large amounts of paper and post it notes slapped onto it with red strings connecting them in some way, the bookcases with large amounts of thick leather bound books and the table full of scattered paper, it’s a normal room.

“Well, welcome to the Occult Club… what brings the t-three of you here?”

“I’m searching for a club to join along with him-“ I patted Hideki-san’s arm, then pointed at Taka-san, “-and he just decided to join our search because he has nothing better to do.”

“A-ah, I see…”

There’s an awkward silence before I broke it.

“What do you do in the Occult Club?”

“A-ah well, It’s not really an Occult Club… I wanted to name the club ‘Cryptids and Beings Research’ but… the administrator named it the Occult Club instead because she said it’s the same thing…”

Those are two completely different things.

“A-anyway, the point of this club is to research about cryptids and other beings… i-it’s not that exciting… the other club members don’t really participate… I’m the only active club member…” Ogawa-senpai muttered, avoiding eye contact with all three of us by looking down.

“I’ll join!” Hideki-san suddenly said, making Ogawa-senpai nearly jump out of his skin.

“E-eh?”

“I’ll join the club! I want to know about cryptids!” Hideki-san said, his eyes are wide and sparkling with interest, which meant that the ‘Occult’ Club now has his full interest.

Haa, might as well.

“I’ll join the club as well.”

**< >.<>. ??? .<>.<>**

A group of delinquents with questionable fashion senses gathered in an alley, the smell of cigarettes heavy in the air as a vivid haze of grey surrounded them. A boy with several piercings on his face perched on a wooden box, taking a long drag from the cigarette between his fingers.

 _“Saa,_ where’s the gaijin?” The pierced delinquent said to the other delinquents, who instantly snapped into attention.

“He stormed off a few days ago and none of us has seen him since.” A heavy weighted delinquent reported, putting out his own lit cigarette on the asphalt.

“That so?”

“Yes, Aniki. He was grumbling about his school holding a bazaar or something along those lines.” Another delinquent chimed in.

“A school bazaar? Should we storm it?”

The pierced delinquent – the leader of the group – huffed as he flicked the ashes of his cigarette. “I have something to take care during the next three weeks; you guys can storm the bazaar by yourselves.”

Murmured cheers could be heard.

“By the way, where are the traffic light bastards?” The leader said after a moment of silence.

“Ah… they went home early, I saw that they were beaten up.”

“Ho? Is that so…”


	5. Chapter Five

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I have no idea what I'm doing and I suck at writing action scenes, so... this chapter isn't exactly good. And there's a panic attack from an outsider's POV when they're in a haunted house, I never had panic attacks like the one described here, so I don't know if I'm accurate. Sorry...

**< >.<>. Thursday Morning, School .<>.<>**

Both I and Hideki-san gave our – finally – filled in club forms to our homeroom teacher mere fifteen minutes before the homeroom bell rung. He glanced over both of it to make sure that we’ve filled in what was needed, not even batting an eye at our choice of club and signing the forms to make it official.

While waiting for the fifteen minutes for homeroom to start, Taka-san and I crowded around Hideki-san’s desk to chat for a while. That was the intention anyway.

In only two minutes, our chat evolved into discussing Evangelion and the psychological elements as well as the angst peppered in generously.

Well, _they_ were having the discussion while I let them have the floor, but I was then pulled in into the discussion, and now talking about the infamous hospital scene.

“After what Shinji had to face in the past episodes, as well as his budding PTSD, the hospital scene makes _sense._ He was in distress and he had no one to sought comfort from, so he went to Asuka for some _semblance_ of comfort even though she’s in a coma. And when he saw her, while he blanks, and his instincts took over, wanting to feel good even if it’s just in a physical way.”

“Okay, that does make sense, but why did he have to _look_ at Asuka and not just-”

The shrill sound of the homeroom bell cut off Taka-san’s words. Immediately, several students dashed to their respective seats, including us. I run my hand briefly on the smooth surface of my table, the previous one marred with ink marks and carvings replaced with the one I’m currently using.

Our homeroom teacher rolled in – quite literally – he’s using Heelys for some reason, his left hand preoccupied with a clipboard while the other one held a thermos. He skids into a stop behind the teacher’s podium, carefully setting down his thermos before addressing us.

“Good morning.”

“Good morning, Sensei.” We greeted back in unison as if it’s a normal thing for our teacher to roll in with _Heelys,_ of all things.

“Before anything else, I was told to announce that the school is holding a two-day bazaar next week. The aim is to celebrate the anniversary of the successful exorcism of a demon some of the alumni managed to summon several years ago.”

I couldn’t see all of my peers’ faces, but I could tell that we’re all deadpanning at the fact that the exorcism is celebrated. This school is a chaotic mess, and so are the students that are attending it.

It’s a wonder that the building is still standing and received no major damages over the years.

“Um… I don’t have much say on what this class wants to do for the bazaar, but just keep in mind that we should try to use the theme ‘demons’ in some form.” He continues awkwardly, scratching his cheek.

A boy stands up suddenly, raising a hand. “What if we make a haunted house?”

A second boy slams both his hands on his desk and objected, “No! My older sister told me that a haunted house has been done to death for this event, it’s too generic! Plus, you’re terrified of haunted houses!”

The first boy sputtered a denial as he tried to defend some semblance of his dignity, ultimately deciding to tackle the second boy to shut him up when he started to spout out more embarrassing secrets.

“What about holding a food stall?” A girl suggested.

“That sounds a bit…” The boy sitting next to her trailed off, “…what about making it a café instead?”

 _Oh boy,_ another cliché. I swear if it’s a maid café or a hostess café-

“Ooh, that sounds good!” The second boy – currently holding the first boy in a very loose chokehold that gives little to no damage – cheered, “Let’s do that instead!”

“Eh… isn’t that generic too?” The first boy grumbled, pouting.

“Hey, what if we make it a maid and butler café? And we might as well dress up at maid and butler demons while we’re at it!”

_Damn._

“Uh – so, the entire class agrees that a demon themed maid and butler café are what you guys are doing?” Our homeroom teacher asked.

The majority of the class agreed, and so a percentage of the students that didn’t voice their opinions decided to follow the majority to agree as well.

There’s no way for me to re-route this to not be a ‘school maid café’ cliché, the only thing for me to do is to just follow the plot.

“Sensei, is a maid and butler café even allowed?” A girl asked. There’s no hesitance in her eyes, only pure curiosity.

He peers over the papers on his clipboard before answering, “It only states that as long as it’s not hazardous to the guests’ health, nor able to harm the guests both temporarily and permanently, as well as having zero mortality rate, anything is allowed.”

Murmurs with positive tones rose briefly before dissipating.

“Okay, the next thing is to discuss what you guys will sell in the café. You need to keep in mind the chances of food poisoning.” Our homeroom teacher writes down ‘Café Planning’ on the blackboard.

“Okay, let’s start with the drinks first.” Our class president started.

“Mm, coffee and tea in general should be in the menu. We also need canned drinks such as juice and soft drinks for people that don’t like both coffee and tea.”

“Okay, that’s good. Let’s add hot chocolate as well with the option of adding marshmallows to appeal to the customers with a sweet tooth.”

“Food however, since we don’t have a fridge and we’ll do the cooking in this class, we need to make sure that the ingredients that we use aren’t ones that spoil easily when not refrigerated. We also need to take precautions for other food items as well, such as curry and egg-based food.” I chimed in, not wanting to deal with potential customer complaints over food poisoning.

“That’s true; we can’t serve raw vegetables since they’re susceptible to bacterial growth. Warm curry is a hot bed for bacteria, and we need to make sure that the eggs are fully cooked so we won’t risk salmonella. Plus, if we use any dairy products we need to keep it from spoiling… does any one of us have a mini-fridge to keep our ingredients in?”

A girl raised her hand, “Um… my father has one unused but fully functional, I’ll try to ask him for permission.”

“Okay, as for the drinks, I myself have a drink cooler that I can bring to school, so we can keep our canned drinks cold.” The class president added.

“We have to add some food items that have no dairy products, eggs and meat for people who don’t eat those three items. We can discuss the food on a later date since we don’t know yet if we have a fridge to hold easily spoiled ingredients. For now, let’s discuss our roles for the café.” The vice class president continued, noting down his own tangent in a notebook.

“Well, we need to have waiters, cooks and dishwashers since we would only have a limited amount of plates. We need to advertise the café as well, so some of us will have to advertise to the guests by handing out flyers and holding up signs.” The class president went to write down the four roles on the blackboard, “Who volunteers to be a cook? You would have to be able to work under pressure and handle heat, as well as being able to work fast if there’s a flood of customers.”

Well, I already have experience for these sorts of things… and I don’t want to serve customers while having to wear a maid costume…

“I volunteer.” I said, raising my hand.

“As far I can see Kimura-san, you’re rather good at Home Economics, so you can have the role.” My name was swiftly written under the ‘cooks’ category.

Logically, there’s no need for me to wear a costume since I’ll be behind the stove instead of directly serving the customers, but let’s see what happens next.

We took ten minutes to fill the roles, the ones who took part as the maids and butlers will have shifts where they’re given the task of washing the dishes, while Hideki-san and Taka-san volunteered for the role of advertising.

For the preparations, we were split into several groups, some with more member than the others.

A group of five were tasked to design the costumes – for some reason the class president thought that we should make the costumes ourselves instead of renting it or buying it. A group of three was given the task of making the flyers and designing the signs for the advertisement.

I was put into the group tasked with making props; I was then given the task of designing a logo that we should use for the café. I’ve sketched out several basic designs, not really liking any of them since something felt missing from every one of them.

“Kimura-san, what kind of costume do you want? Do you have specific aesthetic that you want implemented in the design?” The lead designer asked, holding up his sketchbook.

“I still need to wear a costume?”

“Mm, apparently yes. Everyone has to wear costumes for the demon theme.”

“Hm, well… can I borrow your sketchbook so I can draw out the basics of my design?”

“Sure.” He shrugs and hands over said book.

The open page already held a basic human body outline, that’ll make it easier for me. I quickly sketched out a rough rendition of the design before handing it back to him. “I want to use the colour of yellow in the design.”

“Oh? Yes, this’ll do.” He murmured before slipping away to ask the next student.

I let out a huff as I returned to the task at hand. Thank god I was able to make my own design, anything too loose or with frills will only get in the way of cooking.

**< >.<>.<>**

“We’ve finished making the designs for the costumes.” The leading designer announced, holding a folder chock full of loose paper. “Before anything else though, we were told that five of us already have their own costumes, does anyone else other than them already have their own costumes as well?”

Two other students raised their hands.

“You two, are the both of you going to use your own costumes?”

“Well, we could… but we need to adjust a few things with the costumes.”

“I see. That brings me to another point, is anyone able to make their own costumes?”

I mulled over the option of making my own costume before raising my hand. I can make all the parts of my costume from my own wardrobe with little adjustments here and there. I would have to modify the shoes quite a bit, but it’s doable.

A few of my classmates as well as I raised their hands; I’ve noticed that one of them is a cosplayer who was quite loud with her discussions of cosplaying during lunch break.

“Okay then, we’ll distribute your costume designs for your references; try to get it as close as possible. As for the rest, please come up to the front of the class to get your sizes measured.”

Both Hideki-san and Taka-san sighed long-sufferingly, trudging to the already forming line with the enthusiasm of a criminal heading to the gallows where their death awaits.

I did a once over on the design to see if they’ve changed anything, quirking an eyebrow when I saw that they’ve noted down the colours and used a yellow highlighter to colour in some parts. There’s a sketch of a hairstyle that would go along with the costume too.

I let out a huff of amusement when I saw that someone had titled the design as ‘Battle Butler’ with a note that says ‘it would be cooler if there’s a weapon’ written on the back.

Well, if that’s the case, I might as well bring my pair of tonfa to complete the costume.

I have a feeling I would need it anyway.

**< >.<>. Wednesday, School .<>.<>**

All club activities are suspended due to the fact from year one to three, all classes has to prepare for the bazaar. The activities will start once the two-day bazaar is over. At the moment, I’m sketching out the logo design on a wooden board that will be hung up on the classroom door.

At my position, I could observe three of my peers designing the flyers on a laptop with the help of a graphic tablet.

“What if you add frills to the skirt?”

“No, it’ll be too cluttered.”

“Mm, can you make her like… smaller?”

_“Huh?”_

“Umm… what’s the word… oh! Make her more _chibi.”_

“I just spent twenty minutes on the lineart. Why didn’t you tell me that while I was showing you the sketches?”

“Aha~ it didn’t come to mind. So, can you do it?”

_“Hell no.”_

“Aww, why n-”

_“I swear I’ll break your kneecaps if you continue whining.”_

_“Do it then, you pus-”_

“Guys, can we please finish up the promotional text first-”

It’s coming along _great._

I watch as the two of them snap at each other, _this_ close to do a full out brawl. The third member looked like she is either _this_ close to burst into tears or to join said brawl to beat the living shit out of the other two to stop them from fighting.

I focus back on my task, continuing to sketch the logo. I would have to paint it too after this, may my steady hands not fail me.

“Ne, Ayako-san, what does your costume design look like?” Hideki-san asked, taking a break from sanding down the other planks that will be used for the props.

“Hm? See for yourself.” I push the paper over to him distractedly, erasing the extra lines in the sketch to make it neater.

“Eh? A Battle Butler?” Hideki-san blinked, bewildered.

“Wow, that’s kinda badass.” Taka-san commented, leaning over to look at the paper.

“Mm, I’m going to complete the look with a pair of tonfa so I can look like an actual Battle Butler.”

“You have tonfas? Real ones?” Hideki-san asked with intrigue.

“Mhm.”

“That’s really cool, but why do you have them?” Taka-san asked.

I look up from my work to stare at them blankly for a moment before muttering out, _“Kamikorosu.”_

“I’ve heard that before… I can’t remember from what though.” Taka-san mused. “Anyway, about LCL… we know it works to mentally link the Eva pilot to the Eva Unit and it smells like blood, but do you think it tastes like anything?”

“Well, smell affects taste quite a lot, so it’s likely that the LCL would taste somewhat like blood too.”

“That would _suck.”_

“Absolutely.”

_[The metallic tang lingers in her mouth.]_

_[The smell of rust reminds her too much.]_

**< >.<>. Wednesday Night, Ayako’s House .<>.<>**

I rifled through the clothes hanging on my wardrobe for a total of five minutes before I pulled out a black coattail, a dark grey vest and a white button up. I need to modify the coattail quite a bit; the white button up fortunately only needs a change of buttons.

This time, I looked through my drawers briefly before pulling out black shorts, a pair of black socks with a golden yellow stripe and a leather garter belt that would have to be modified a little.

I open the drawers of my desk to pull out two wooden boxes, one filled with loose accessories that I occasionally add to my clothes when they’re a bit too plain. The other one held my sewing supplies, needles, rolls of thread, sewing chalk amongst other things.

Before anything else however, I need to make a crossover tie since I have none in black, only in red and white. There’s also a matter of making a headband with demon horns on it, but I’ll take care of it tomorrow.

I take black fabric from the shelves, marking the pieces I need with the sewing chalk and cutting them out. I sew them together after fusing one of them with interfacing fabric, turning it right side out before sewing the opening closed. I positioned the strip and inserted the snap.

I set the crossover tie aside and worked on removing the buttons from the white button up.

I wonder how long this will take.

**< >.<>. Next Week’s Saturday Morning, Ayako’s House .<>.<>**

I shrug on the coattail with ease, buttoning it before moving on to style my hair in a loose low ponytail, making sure that the headband – save for the horns – is covered by my hair.

I wrap around the demon tail attached to my shorts around my waist so no one would be able to pull on it on my way to school.

I covered most of my costume with a jacket so if something were to hit me – let’s say a car splashing mud on me – my jacket would be the one who would get most of the mud. That and I don’t want to be stared at too much on my way to school.

I grab the plastic bag containing the ingredients needed for the food and headed out.

The rhythmic taps of my tonfas hanging by my waist is sort of annoying.

**< >.<>.<>**

I arrive at my classroom with the knowledge that the boy that said haunted houses are overdone for this bazaar wasn’t wrong, because on my way here I’ve passed three haunted houses, and my class is only on the second floor.

Around half of the class were already there; most of them putting on finishing touches on their looks such as adding a little bit of makeup to make themselves look more demon-like. I opted not to use any, since I’ll be working with heat and sweat the makeup off quickly.

I shrug off the jacket along with the tonfa holster I’ve clasped on my belt, setting the ingredients on the desks used for the makeshift counters. I take out the dairy products and place them in the mini fridge, using as little place as possible. I place both my jacket and tonfas on the pile of personal items placed behind the ‘staff only’ area.

“O~kay! We need to prep the ingredients so we won’t flounder around when it’s rush hour!” The self-appointed leader of the cooking group announced.

I sigh through my nose, taking off my gloves and shoving them in my pocket. “I’ll shred the cheese.”

“Okay, I’ll prep the chicken!”

“I’ll prep the crepe batter.”

I shred the cheese swiftly, moving in a fast pace as the mountain of shredded cheese grew larger and larger.

“Ayako-san, good morning!”

I look up momentarily to take in the sight of Hideki-san and Taka-san in butler costumes, letting out a snort of amusement at how out of place the horns looked on their heads. “Good morning, Hideki-san, Taka-san.”

“Don’t laugh, I hate these horns too.” Taka-san grumbled, almost pouting.

“It looks so out of place.” I said honestly, reigning in my laughter. “It almost resembles a lamb’s horns.”

“Baa~ baa~” Hideki-san started to make lamb noises, which made me join in as well out of sheer boredom.

A few of our classmates looked over to see what in the ever loving _fuck_ is making the noise before turning back to their own business.

 _“Oi,_ you two, come get your stack of flyers and sign.” A girl called out.

The both of them sighed before bidding me a goodbye and dashing over to the stack of paper.

I continued the food prep, making several batches of muffin batter for the bakers to bake before the bazaar opens. I had to catch several of my classmates who had their anxiety shooting through the roof due to the bazaar when they tripped over their own feet.

It will do no good if the food preparations are ruined because of the cliché of tripping during a crucial moment.

The moment the clock struck eight, the sound speakers turned on with an ominous crackle. “The Demon Exorcism Bazaar has officially opened. Try not to summon another one.” The voice of the principal buzzed before turning off again.

What kind of opening speech was _that?_

I peeked outside the classroom windows and gazed blankly at the sight of a crowd rushing in – with determination suited for a fairy tale hero on their way to slay a dragon – the moment the school’s gate was opened. This is a bit much for just a school bazaar isn’t it?

A handful of customers arrived and I started working. I wouldn’t lie that after a few hours that my arms were starting to get tired. After making crepes, fried rice, omurice – the kind that oozes when you cut it, the occasional sweet or savoury gallete, and helping the bakers every now and then, my arms felt slightly numb.

Hideki-san and Taka-san returned after hours in on spreading flyers, switching shifts with the other two advertisers. The both of them lay on the resting area haggardly for a total of five minutes before getting up and said that they’re going to look around the other class’ stalls.

I sighed as I rotated my shoulders, the sound of cracking reaching my ears and a brief relief running through my nerves before I continued on making the food.

I felt a thrum of annoyance as I looked over the tables, most of them filled with adults who are trying – keyword on _try_ – to be subtle with their ogling and failing in the process. _Disgusting bastards._

We, the cooks silently seethed behind our station, curbing the urge to sabotage those bastards’ orders. Sadly, we were not allowed to do so.

I could see that my classmates are uncomfortable with the looks they’re receiving, but they kept a professional smile on their faces, I applaud them.

“Hey Kimura-san, it’s time for you to switch.” The class president called out, tapping his fist against my arm lightly.

“Mm? Okay, I’ll leave it to you guys.” I nearly sigh in relief but I restrain myself. It’s time for me to switch with another person until the rest of the day, which means at the moment I’m free to explore the stalls.

I shook my arms after taking off the apron and hair net I had to wear, those things are uncomfortable when used for too long.

I clasp on my tonfa holsters, complete with the pair of tonfas.

I haven’t eaten anything for lunch; it’s actually an hour past lunch time, now that I pay attention. So I visited a few stands here and there, buying grilled squid and what not, cliché, I know.

As far as I have seen, I’ve counted a total of seven haunted houses. Wow, it’s _really_ overdone.

I was stopped a handful of times by some people so they could take a picture with me, I didn’t really mind, though I did have to stop several children from tugging on either my coattail or the demon tail.

I was munching on a box of takoyaki when I visited a second year’s exhibit, I was intrigued since they didn’t make their classroom into a haunted house nor are they selling food. I peeked in, not really knowing what I expected, only to freeze at what I saw.

I was given the confirmation that the guillotine I previously saw being worked on had been finished, and that whoever had been working on it used an actual blade. I watch numbly as an upperclassman dressed as an executioner pulled a lever, sending the sharp blade down on a pumpkin, successfully cutting it clean in half.

I can see two other upperclassmen dressed in priest garbs carrying a wax statue of a demon while a group dressed head to toe in white followed behind while chanting hymns in harmony.

It’s an ominous sight to say the least.

“It is time for the demon to be executed, for he has done things that _cannot_ be spoken.”

The crowd of people watching _cheered._

Is this a cult? Did I walk in on a fucking _cult?_

The statue was positioned in the way an executed person would be – its neck bare and clasped between two wooden planks. The blade gleamed menacingly under the fluorescent lights.

The blade comes down, chopping the head off clean, letting it drop into a basket. The statue’s severed neck spurts with fake blood coming from a tube embedded in the neck.

What the _fuck_ is this.

The executioner blows into a horn trumpet, and the crowd cheers once again.

I slowly back away and close the door.

That was a sight to forget and best to not think about.

I continue to aimlessly walk around the school, looking at the exhibits and occasionally playing the games some of the classes had set up. I played a shooting game where I have to hit several moving targets; I ended up having the highest score so far, so that’s fun.

I won a small priest doll from that shooting game, it’s kind of cute. I ended up clasping the doll to my tonfa holster since I didn’t want to carry it around in my hand everywhere.

It’s as if I’m a demon that had captured a priest and decided to use them as a hostage.

I look on to the hallway, blinking twice at the sight of red and purple.

“Ayako-san!” Hideki-san calls out, running down the hallway cheerfully. Taka-san is following him with long strides, he looked happy.

“Hideki-san, Taka-san.” I greeted the both of them. I glanced down at their hands, blinking at the sight of stall prizes in their grasps. “I see that the both of you had fun.”

“Hell yeah we did, I won several times at the basketball dunking game!” Taka-san said happily, “I even got this demon doll they had as a prize!” He extends a hand holding said demon doll.

“Is that so? Because I won a priest doll.” I unclasp the priest doll from my tonfa and squeezed it in my hand, pushing its cheek against the demon doll’s cheek.

“Aw, that’s cute!” Hideki-san cooed, poking the dolls. “…The way you’re holding him makes it look like you’ve kidnapped him and holding him for ransom.”

“I’m thinking of attaching him to my costume for tomorrow.” I fall into silence for a moment. “Anyway, did you _see_ the exhibition of class 2-C?”

“Ah… it’s the guillotine one isn’t it?” Taka-san said with a faraway look on his face.

“Mm, we’re convinced that it’s a cult at this point.” Hideki-san added, squeezing the priest doll absentmindedly.

“So I wasn’t the only one who thought that.” I muttered.

“Hey, why don’t we go visit a haunted house? I heard the 3-B’s haunted house is terrifying!” Taka-san said, swiftly recovering from both his faraway expression and the topic.

“Eh~? I hate haunted houses, no way!” Hideki-san immediately protested.

“Mm, I don’t really…” I mumbled lowly. It’s not as if I hated them, but the last time I went inside one…

_~~“…Sensei?”~~ _

I flick away that memory, there’s no need to think about that.

“Great! Let’s go!” Taka-san clasps a hand on both my and Hideki-san’s shoulder, dragging us off with determination as he cackled with glee.

“Ho- hold on-!” Hideki-san protested, digging his heels on the ground.

I sighed deeply.

**< >.<>.<>**

The haunted house was in fact _not_ fun, more so for Hideki-san than me. At first, it was fine and dandy, the attraction was dark and we were only given an artificial candle to light our way since there’s a chance of dropping the candle and lighting something on fire if it’s an actual candle.

There were ominous noises to set the atmosphere, the sound of faraway chimes and crackling, followed with the sound of wind in the background. I felt like I was being watched in every second I was there and there was a foreboding chill that crawled down my spine.

The air smelled musty, and it was damp and uncomfortable.

Hideki-san was gripping tightly on my wrist; he looked panicky, horrified even. While Taka-san took the lead, holding an electric lantern – he had plucked it from somewhere and passed the candle to me – a grin could be seen on his face, it’s quite clear that he’s enjoying the attraction.

We were jumpscared several times, either from an actor outright jumping out to scare us, or by an actor ominously standing at hidden corner, waiting to be seen. Hideki-san’s grip got harder and harder with each scare, to the point where I’m sure that I would see bruises blooming in the shape of his grip by tomorrow.

At some time, we find ourselves hiding in a dark, cramped walk in closet from a – most likely fake _but who knows at this point_ – chainsaw wielding maniac.

I let out a sigh as I listened to the whirring of the chainsaw, which at the moment is still going strong. Hideki-san had yet to let go of my wrist, his grip tighter than ever. I didn’t really mind, though it does remind me of some memories I would rather suppress than remember.

_~~“Ne, sensei… what are you doing?”~~ _

_~~“…This’ll be our own little secret Ayako-chan. You can keep secrets, right?”~~ _

_Stop._

_Curb that memory._

_Bottle it, seal it tight and drown it in your sea of apathy._

_Take a deep breath._

**_Ignore it._ **

I nearly lost my balance completely when Hideki-san crumpled to the ground, yanking me with him, a wheeze escaping his lips, echoing in the small space. Taka-san nearly dropped the lantern he held when he dived to catch Hideki-san from falling flat on his face.

I stagger as I balanced myself, pressing a palm against the wall to aid me. I crouch down to look closer at Hideki-san, and numbly realized that Hideki-san is having a panic attack, and I don’t know if he’s coherent enough to see his surroundings.

I look into his eyes to find that his eyes are unfocused.

_Fuck._

What do I do?

“Hideki-san?” Taka-san questioned with an undertone of panic.

“Don’t- don’t touch me.” Hideki-san rasped out, his breaths frantic and voice strained. He jerked back, struggling against the hold that kept him from falling face first.

“Taka-san, let go of him.”

He nods briefly before setting Hideki-san down as gently as possible. He steps back a little, his back hitting the walls surrounding us.

“Hideki-san, can you hear me?”

No response.

His breaths are frantic.

I repeat the question. “Hideki-san, can you hear me?”

A jerky nod.

“Hideki-san, do you know where you are?”

A few seconds passed before he croaked out, “I’m in school, and we’re holding a bazaar.”

“Can you in breathe for seven seconds? Hold, hold. Now release for five seconds. Again.”

_Inhale.  
Hold.  
Exhale.  
Repeat.  
Inhale.  
Hold.  
Exhale.  
Repeat._

The process repeated several times until his breath had evened out to normal-ish levels. He’s holding his head in his hand, the palm digging into his shut eyes. His other hand is still clutched tight around my wrist, and if he were stronger, he might’ve dislocated my wrist.

“Hideki-san?” Taka-san asked, concern clear in his body language and voice.

“I- sorry. I just… I just don’t like small and dark spaces.” Hideki-san said once he had gained control over his voice, it sounded a bit clipped.

Ah.

I see.

It’s most likely that this fear of his more of a trauma than anything else. What was once a seed of fear in his psyche, maturing to be a deep rooted trauma as time passed.

“Can you stand up? Or do you want to sit down for a few minutes?” I asked him, keeping a hand over his clenched ones.

“I… I can stand up.” Hideki-san said, shifting himself up with the help of the wall. “I want to leave.”

“Okay, let’s do that.” I murmur softly, signalling wordlessly at Taka-san to open the door.

He complies silently.

**< >.<>.<>**

“I’m sorry for dragging you in the haunted house!” Taka-san apologized the very moment we got to a more isolated area of the school. The few stragglers in hearing range glanced at us before going back to mind their own business.

“Eh- don’t- its fine, Taka-kun!” Hideki-san sputtered, his arms flailing.

“No, I dragged you into the haunted house even though you didn’t want to go there. I’m sorry that I didn’t consider why you didn’t want to and forced you to come. I understand if you’re mad at me.” Taka-san looked up, but he has yet to look into Hideki-san’s eyes.

“I… I’m not mad at you, Taka-kun.” Hideki-san said, he sounds tired. “You didn’t know about it, you just wanted to have fun.”

“But _still-!”_

“It’s alright, Taka-kun. I accept your apology, although it is unneeded.” Hideki-san cuts in, his lips pulled into a soft smile.

His eyes are warm, but at the same time, they felt empty.

We fell into silence, not an uncomfortable one, but not a comfortable one either. I looked between them awkwardly and decided to break the ice.

“…Do you guys want to play more stall games?” I suggested awkwardly.

The both of them snorted in amusement. “Sure.”

I have a strong feeling that they’re amused by how awkward I sound.

By the end of the first day of the bazaar, I went home with my bag filled with dubious-quality trinkets I won from the stall. Both Hideki-san and Taka-san seemed to move on from the incident, or at least, they’ve pushed it to the back of their minds for now, something I’m familiar with.

_~~“Ayako-chan… why? Didn’t you promise me to keep it ‘our little secret’?”~~ _

_~~“…I’ve never promised anything, sensei.”~~ _

_[She pushes that memory into the unforgiving sea with practiced ease.]_

_[She only hopes that it won’t blow up in her face, but she knows that the sea will reach its limits one day.]_

_[She briefly wonders if she had suppressed a memory to the point of forgetting it completely.]_

**< >.<>. Sunday Afternoon, School .<>.<>**

The second – and also the last – day of the bazaar is as hectic as the first. It has been exactly five minutes since my shift started, and I’ve witnessed a group dressed in robes that gave me cult vibes walk in the café and order only grilled cheese sandwiches.

I decide that it would be best for me to just ignore that particular group and focus back on my cooking.

And it turns out two of our waiters decided to ditch because they’re tired, and I couldn’t blame them, I’m also tired.

And so, because we are two waiters short, Hideki-san and Taka-san had been chosen to replace them instead. The both of them grumbled about it before plastering on practiced fake smiles the moment a customer steps in.

I feel bad for them; I could see that they’re uncomfortable with their sudden roles. The fact that some customers are openly looking at them with _certain intent_ didn’t help. I seethed once again, fucking creeps.

Thankfully, the flow of customers had slowed down a bit, giving us time to take a breather. I sighed as I cracked my shoulders, looking over to the window to see the overall flow of guests of the bazaar.

I both frown and cringe at the sight I’m greeted with.

A group of delinquents with questionable fashion senses sauntered in nonchalantly; most of them looked to be in either second year or third year. The guests immediately parted to make way for them the moment they’ve noticed the group.

A sharp-featured delinquent stood at the front, most likely the group’s leader, or at least someone that holds a high position in the group.

Each of them had their own weapons either slung over their shoulders or held, crowbars, shinai, baseball bats… yeah, you get the point.

I growled, “Fucking hell.”

Che, that group will only bring trouble.

I clasp on my tonfa holsters. Just in case.

**< >.<>. School, Class 2-B .<>.<>**

Kurai sighed heavily as he shuffled along to move the light-weight props his class used for the haunted house. He rolled up his sleeves for the -nth time, picking up the – now broken – cardboard sign a guest had punched in reflex.

He doesn’t like the bazaar, the reason why it was held in the first wasn’t even true.

Oh, the demon _is_ real, but it isn’t _gone._ Kurai couldn’t see the demon, but he could feel it. And on these two days, the demon grows agitated.

He had told the principal of his concerns, but the man only looked at him with an odd expression and acted as if the conversation hadn’t happened.

Though he would like to know more about the demon and observe it, the being would slip away before he could know more of its mannerism. Though, he supposed, that he himself doesn’t like being observed too.

He hopes that whatever was watching him in his house would stop soon; it’s taking a toll on his health.

He drops the broken props into the pile that had accumulated after brief meetings with guests that selected fight instead of flight when they’re scared.

“Ogawa-san! We need to pack up on the props outside our classroom!” His class president said hurriedly.

“W-why?”

“There are delinquents heading towards the school, they’ll break everything if they see it!”

Kurai whirled around to look at the taller teen. “De-delinquents?”

“Yeah! This particular group is known to storm school events, and they’ve targeted our school! They’ve even sent several students to the hospital!”

His mind briefly wondered off to think of Kimura-san’s safety, before he blocked that certain thought from going any further.

He doesn’t know why he even thought of her.

**< >.<>. School, Class 1-B .<>.<>**

I watched the door silently, a scowl forming on my face as annoyance ebbed under my skin.

“Ayako-chan, are you okay? You’ve been scowling for a while now.” Taka-san whispered, leaning over to do so. I dodged the fake horns that nearly poked me in the eye before answering.

“Mm, I saw a group of delinquents barging in the school gates, and I’ve been feeling bad vibes for quite a while.”

“A group of delinquents?” Hideki-san asked.

“Yeah, the leader looked sharp. Like, literally, his hair could probably cut something.” I mimed the spiky hair with my hands. “The delinquents wore questionable clothes. I even saw one using a highlighter yellow jacket.”

“Ew, _that_ colour?” Hideki-san said in mock disgust, reeling back as if I’ve just told him that I’ve murdered someone and needed his help to hide the body.

“One of them looked as if they’ve styled his hair using an entire can of hairspray; I imagine that if I were to grab his hair it would feel _and_ sound crunchy.”

“Ew.” This time Taka-san was the one reeling back.

The door to our classroom was slammed open even though it was unnecessary since it was already halfway open. The windows rattled from the force, and I could hear the glass vibrate ever so slightly.

“I think I get what you mean by sharp.” Taka-san whispered the moment he laid eyes on the teen.

His hair, as I’ve described, was spiked all over the place and had sharp angles, and his hair was dyed in a faded out blue. He’s wearing five belts; one of them was looped around his neck loosely. _Damn,_ I don’t know what style he’s aiming for, but it’s not good.

He’s carrying a rusted crowbar over his shoulder. Ooh, how menacing. I’m going to call him Belt Delinquent, BD for short.

“Why is he wearing a belt around his neck?” Hideki-san muttered lowly.

“Hell if I know, he’s a walking fashion disaster.”

“That’s a lot of highlighter and neon colours, I think my eyes got worse just because I looked at them for a second.” Taka-san complained.

Our customers that were in the middle of eating had fled during the ordeal, leaving the money needed to cover their bills on their tables.

Well, at least they paid.

The group of delinquents sauntered through like they owned the place, and with no hesitation, seated themselves in one of the bigger tables clear of any half-eaten plates.

“Oi! Can we get a waiter here?!” BD yelled, kicking over the nearest chair in his range, slamming the blunt edge of his crowbar into the leg of his chair.

A classmate shuffled her way hesitantly to the group, holding several menus in her arms. She went to hand them over, but one of them reached over and wrenched them all out of her hands forcefully.

“W-what would you l-like to order?” She’s terrified, but she’s trying her best to keep a smile on her face.

The delinquents sneered, and then proceeded to rattle off the items they want to eat and drink. I could see that a majority of them are ogling openly at all of the waitresses, not even trying to be subtle.

She passes over the orders to us cooks once she had gotten it, she looked close to tears, I don’t blame her.

“I’ll handle the omurice.” I said, the rest nodded as they announced what they’ll be working on.

I swiftly cooked the omurice with practiced motions and finished the order quickly, passing it to the waiter for her to serve. I continued to work on the other orders in relative silence as I tried my best to block out the delinquents’ chatter.

“Oi! What the hell is this?!” A delinquent yelled, gesturing far too dramatically to his plate of omurice that he had eaten half of.

Damn, what kind of shit is he gonna pull out of his ass?

“I-is something wrong, sir?” The waitress asked, her voice slightly shaky.

“There’s a _bug_ in my food.” He said in a tone fitting for a stereotypical snobby aristocrat looking down on a commoner. He’s holding a – _very_ – fake looking cockroach covered in rice grains by its antennas.

…Did he actually think that toy would fool anyone?

I nearly let out a long-suffering sigh at the utterly ridiculous direction this situation is heading towards.

“Oi! Who the hell cooked this omurice?!” He yelled once more, throwing down the toy cockroach onto his plate.

This time I did sigh as I traded long-suffering looks with the other cooks.

I undid my apron and put on my gloves, double checking my tonfas before stepping forwards and outside the cooking area.

“I cooked that dish, sir.” I said flatly.

“Haa? Get over here.”

I grudgingly obliged, walking over to the group, keeping my face flat and impassive.

“How are you going to compensate for this, huh? There’s a fucking cockroach in the food I’ve eaten!” He growled, grabbing said plate of food and chucking it at the floor full force.

The plate shattered, sending shards of ceramic mixed with food – and a plastic cockroach – across the floor. I nearly scowled in annoyance, but I instead settled for narrowing my eyes.

I could see that the other delinquents are watching with grins on their faces, as if they’re entertained with the display. The delinquent looked at me up and down with a contemplative look that I wanted to wipe from his face with the aid of a tonfa.

“Say…” He trails off, a wolfish grin forming on his face. He gets up from his seat – ah, I’m taller than him – and leans forward to look at me closer. “You’re good enough to be the compensation, whaddya say?”

I nearly clenched my hands, itching to grip on something – preferably the handle of the tonfas pressing against my thighs. I could hear Taka-san and Hideki-san arguing with the class president faintly in the background.

 _“What the fuck are you two trying to do?!”_ The class president hissed, the sound of struggle evident.

 _“Ayako-san is being harassed!”_ Hideki-san hissed back.

 _“Let go of me_ – when the _hell_ did you get this goddamned grip strength-” Taka-san half whispered, half yelled.

“I refuse.” I said coldly.

“Oh? Is that so?” He said in a cheerful tone. He kept that cocky smirk on his face, but I caught a flash of annoyance from the quirk of his eyebrows. He grabs the shinai slung on his back and swings it down, aiming for my head.

I met his shinai with my tonfa, the sound of wood impacting hard against metal ringing in the room mixed with the sound of my classmates’ collective gasps. I shifted to put most of my weight into my left foot, lifting my right one and quickly striking him dead centre on his stomach.

He let out a garbled cry as he slammed back against his chair, toppling it over with his weight and force.

 _“Get out of our school.”_ I growl, my mouth set on a scowl.

The rest of the delinquents – except BD for some reason – stood up quickly, their faces set on somewhere between enraged and furious. The brandished their own weapons and lunged at me – one even climbing _over_ the table, knocking over all the plates and drinks instead of going around it like a normal person.

 _“Kamikorosu.”_ I muttered under my breath, blocking at strike from a wooden baseball bat that for some god forsaken reason had _nails_ embedded in it.

I deflected the bat to the side and wrenched it out of his grip forcefully. He was momentarily distracted by the forceful removal and the loss of his weapon, so I took the moment to slam the end of my tonfa into his stomach.

He curls inwards, spitting out both curses and saliva as he clenched his stomach in pain, coughing and spluttering. I slammed my elbow into the back of his head, knocking him out and sending him down with the impact.

I quickly step over the downed body and turned around to block the swing of a rusted pipe with my arms crossed in an X position. I redirected his swing to the side and elbowed his face. A sickening crack could be heard the moment my elbow made impact with his nose, I most likely just broke his nose.

Well, his nose was already crooked, so I just made it worse. Whoops.

I step aside to dodge a slash from a butterfly knife that nearly cut my side. I slam the side of my tonfa on his hand, making him let go of the knife in pain. I kick the knife aside to prevent anyone else snatching the knife and using it on me.

“So, leaving peacefully is off of the table, huh?” I said to no one.

One of them decides that the most appropriate way to respond to my words by swinging an entire _table_ at me. _Why._

I slugged him across his jaw and swiftly jabbing a tonfa at his solar plexus as a follow up. He wheezed and dropped the table, nearly crushing my toes in the process. I grab both sides of his head and slammed his forehead into my knee.

I push him back forcefully, watching for a brief moment as he falls backwards and slammed the back of his head on the floor, unconscious.

I dodge a haymaker, ducking underneath the swing as I dropped low on the ground. I pressed the palm of my hand against the floor and swept his legs out while using that arm as an anchor.

BD decided that it’s finally time for him to join in the fight and tried to land a hit on my shoulder with his crowbar – and from the glimpse I got, he had sharpened the ends of it. With the momentum of the swing and the fact I stepped aside, the crowbar hit the floor instead, tiles cracking and forming spider webs.

…Did he just try to hit me with that absurd amount of force?

And now the floor needs to be fucking fixed – thanks a _lot_ BD.

I jump back to dodge the second attack that followed the first, only to stagger from the sudden familiar dull ache on my back. Someone had taken a chair and slammed it on my back – he even used the narrow side of the seat too.

_Ow._

I grab onto the chair and ripped it away from his grip forcefully, lifting it up above my head and slamming it down on him. He goes down, knocked out on impact. I threw aside the chair with more force than necessary, the sound of metal and wood clattering on tiles felt deafening.

I whip around; narrowly dodging the swing BD took when my back was momentarily turned to him. I response, I swung my hand to deliver and uppercut, but he dodged it by jumping back.

We’re both in a standstill, looking at each other with assessing gazes as if the other is a bug underneath a microscope. He seems rather focused on my pair of tonfa, not quite focusing on anything else.

Hm…

Perhaps I could…

I rushed towards him with both of my hands positioned as if I intend to attack him; he reacts as I expected he would, raising both of his hands to block the attack he expected.

I drop the attack at the last second and instead kneed him right where the sun doesn’t shine.

His face lost all colour as he let out a noise that resembled some sort of unholy combination of a kettle whistle and the cry of a dying siren rather than any noise a human should make. The crowbar clatters to the ground while he dropped to his knees and fell sideways.

I could hear sharp intakes of breath coming from the majority of the male population of the class, most likely wincing in sympathy. I kick away the crowbar to the side and knocked him out by slamming the end of my tonfa to the back of his head.

Alright then, now that that’s done…

I look around at the downed bodies strewn around me like an eerie cult sacrifice, immediately dismissing that train of observation before it could go any further. I flick away the stray droplets of blood that managed to get on my tonfa, stepping over the unconscious form of Belt Delinquent.

I wanted to tell the others to get a teacher – the principal – _any responsible adult, really_ – but I was interrupted with the sound of the door being slammed open harshly to the point the windows vibrated minutely.

I turn to see to see a boy with quite the impressive scowl on his face, and from his appearance, it’s clear that he’s a delinquent. His hair is blonde with purple highlights, his eyes a light shade of orange.

He’s either another ‘love interest’ or another delinquent with questionable hair colour choices. I’m hoping for the latter.

He’s wearing a school uniform, only a white button up and pants, no tie or anything else that would indicate what school he is from. I notice that his pants are sagging – did the Belt Delinquent steal his belt? _Probably,_ who knows at this point?

“Fucking – _you belt stealing bastard_ – what the hell happened here?!” He shouted, stalking in the classroom with a baseball bat dragging behind him.

“Hm? They were being disruptive and started a fight, so I finished said fight.” I said, positioning my tonfa in a better grip. I could feel Hideki-san’s and Taka-san’s gaze at my back, as if saying ‘what the _fuck_ are you doing-’.

He looks at me as if I’ve declared that my dream is to marry a grilled cheese sandwich and to have a side of tomato soup as a mistress.

“I- you? _You’re_ the one who beat the shit out of them?” He made a sweeping motion with his arm.

“What about it?” My grip on the tonfa tightened.

He grins, wild and feral. _“Fight me.”_ And then he lunged.

I grimace and raised my tonfa, and then –

 _“Ota Tsuyoi!_ You stop that this instant!” A voice that I’ve grown familiar to shouted from the doorway.

Fuck, that’s a name, that means he’s a fucking ‘love interest’. Or, at the very least, appear again at some point in the future.

Ota-san stopped in his tracks, bat still in mid swing. His face contorts into an impressive scowl and he whipped around to face the school’s counsellor.

“Haa?! Get off my back old man! You’ve never cared about me!”

Hm? Now that I think about it, they share the same last name.

 _“I_ never cared about you?! _You stubborn_ – get to my office, right now!” The school’s counsellor barked out in a no-nonsense tone, glaring at Ota-san.

“Che, damn old man…” Ota-san grumbled, slinging his bat over his shoulder before he stomped off to – presumably – go to the office.

Well, that was anticlimactic.

…

Wait, what about the unconscious delinquents?

I stifled down a sigh and turned to the closest student, “Hey, can you – I don’t know, call a teacher or something, to deal with…” I gestured to the bodies. They blinked before nodding quickly and sliding out of the doors to do so – at least I think they’re going to.

“Ayako-san, are you okay?” Hideki-san asked in concern fretting over me the moment he broke free from the class president’s grip.

“Yeah, that guy slammed a chair on you!” Taka-san pointed in the general directed of said guy.

“Eh, it feels like a dull ache – I think it’s going to bruise by tomorrow.” I winced as I rubbed my back. “Who was that guy anyway?”

“What? The chair guy or the ‘too many belts’ guy?” Taka-san questioned, glancing back. “I can steal their student IDs to find out.” He moves forwards as if he’s going to do that exact thing.

I stop him before he actually loots the unconscious bodies for their student IDs. “No, don’t loot them, I meant the one with purple highlights – Ota Tsuyoi, was it?”

“Ah, him? He’s a delinquent who had been held back a year because of his grades and abysmal attendance – he’s supposed to be in his second year by now.” Hideki-san answered.

“Hm…”

The class president clapped his hands loudly. “Okay everyone, we need to clean up the mess! And I’ve been told that the student council will dispo- take care of the delinquents, so don’t worry about them.”

It sounded like he was going to say ‘dispose’ just now… oh well.

I glanced at the mess caused by the brawl and sighed deeply. I guess I have to help with the clean up now; most of the mess is my fault anyway.

I was handed a broom by Taka-san, and I began sweeping the pieces of shattered plate, only to be interrupted once again by the door being slammed open – again.

“We’re here to take away the delinquents, please move out of the way.” A girl from the Student Council said in monotone, leading three other student council members. Her eyes are obscured under the thick lensed glasses she wore, her black hair tied neatly into two low braids.

My classmates who clamoured around the passed out delinquents to take pictures of them – for what purpose, I don’t know – parted like the Red Sea to Moses, making way for the student council’s members.

“In behalf of the Student Council, we apologize for letting these delinquents step into school premises.” She gave a bow to the classroom and proceeded to help the other student council members bodily drag the unconscious bodies away and collect the weapons that were strewn on the floor.

“Doesn’t it look like they’re cleaning up a crime scene?” Taka-san whispered.

“A crime sc- don’t say such things!” Hideki-san hissed at Taka-san.

“It kind of does though – we’re the ones who are cleaning up the blood and stuff.” I muttered.

“Ugh.”


End file.
